Mass Protest against Socialism in Venezuela: Minute by Minute

Venezuela’s mega-protest against the Maduro dictatorship: Venezuelans take to the streets again today for a march of potentially historic proportions. The PanAm Post is blogging live about the event both here and on our Spanish site.



On April 19, Venezuela celebrates the 207th anniversary of the start of its independence movement against Spain, prompting the democratic opposition against dictator Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship to organize marches in the streets of Caracas. The country remains under economic chaos, marked by severe shortages of food and medicine, hyperinflation, and an inept system of central planning controlled by Maduro’s cronies in the armed forces. Last week, Maduro sent helicopters to drop tear gas on protesters. This week, he announced plans to provide arms to 500,000 members of an untrained militia with the intention of combatting what he considers an “illegal effort” to topple his regime. These policy choices, coupled with pressure from the Organization of American States’ (OAS) increased effort to implement a Democratic Charter and the Supreme Court’s coup d’état against the National Assembly, have increased tensions in Venezuela.

10:15 PM

It has been reported that a member of the Bolivarian National Guard was killed in San Antonio de los Altos. Three dead after today’s protests.

9:48 PM

The #NicolasMaduroASESINO etiquette is now trending worldwide.

9:30 PM

Demonstrations and strong repression are reported in San Antonio de Los Altos, Miranda. The Bolivarian National Guard is launching tear gas bombs at housing complexes and demonstrators.

8:50 PM

A group of Venezuelans in Peru has taken to the streets of Lima to protest against the Maduro regime.

Venezolanos protestan contra Nicolás Maduro en Lima, Perú. https://t.co/Y87DdEUf1A

— Daniel Blanco (@DanielBlancoPz) April 20, 2017

8:10 PM

400 people confirmed arrested during a day of massive nationwide protests.

8:08 PM

Protests in the la Florida neighborhood.

7:30 PM

The Venezuelan opposition announces march plans for tomorrow, with 26 meeting points along the march route, culminating in front of the Venezuelan public defender’s office.



7:15 PM

Protesters in Bogota amass outside the residence of the Venezuelan ambassador to Colombia, in the north of the city.

7:00 PM

The Democratic Unity Party (MUD) issued an official announcement in the wake of the protest marches and government repression this Wednesday. Governor Henrique Capriles announced a demonstration for this Thursday, April 20, at the Public Defender’s office.

“We can not allow the government to set the agenda…Tomorrow at the same time and in the same place!” concluded Capriles.

6:20 PM

Veneuelan forum on criminal law announces: more than 270 detained in protests this Wednesday.

6:15 PM

Opposition protesters managed to reach the public defender’s office in the states of Barinas and Carabobo.

6:10 PM

The Colombian senate passed a resolution declaring that Venezuela’s democratic, constitutional order has been broken under the Maduro regime and asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take concrete diplomatic measures:

6:05 PM

Security forces have arrested at least 137 protesters in the last few hours in Venezuela.

5:58 PM

Pollster Meganalisis states that 2.5 million people marched against Maduro today in Caracas and over 6 million marched nationwide. “The people are hungry and sick (of the regime).”

5:55 PM

With more and more clashes between the security forces and civilians, opposition protesters keep on resorting to improvised barricades to protect themselves from state violence. These images are from the city of Mérida:

5:45 PM

OAS chief Luis Almagro has condemned the Maduro regime’s use of repression and violence today:

5:40 PM

The Chávez-Maduro regime has taken numerous news outlets off the air. The latest victim of their censorship: Colombia’s El Tiempo Televisión.

5:35 PM

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has expressed his concern about today’s events in Venezuela:

4:35 PM

A member of Venezuela’s feared National Guard spontaneously joined the anti-Maduro protests in Valencia. If more servicemen follow his lead and disobey their superiors, could this become a Harald Jaeger moment?

4:15 PM

The PanAm Post‘s Orlando Avendaño says that today’s protests in the city of Valencia are the largest in recent history:

4:10 PM

After protesters filled the streets of Valencia, the Chavista authorities shut off access to all major roadways, the PanAm Post‘s Orlando Avendaño reports.

4:05 PM

The Venezuelan press reports that the young woman killed in San Cristobal was the victim of Chavista paramilitary groups.

4:00 PM

Anti-Maduro protesters have torn down a fence at an Air Force base in eastern Caracas. The regime has responded with aggression from the start, and some demonstrators are not intent on keeping today’s protests entirely peaceful.

3:55 PM

A 24 year-old woman has been killed during protests in the western city of San Cristobal. This is the Maduro regime’s second known casualty today following the death of a 17 year-old economics student shot in the head in Caracas.

3:40 PM

In a speech to his followers (awfully few compared to the anti-Chavistas protesting at this very moment across Venezuela), dictator Nicolás Maduro blamed today’s violence on Julio Borges, an opposition congressman who was himself attacked by Chavista paramilitaries last year, and threatened him with legal action. Maduro added that, today, he is “more Chavista than ever before.”

3:34 PM

Protesters flee from tear gas attacks in Maracaibo:

3:29 PM

The western city of San Cristobal, located near the border with Colombia, is also the scene of massive protests against Maduro.

3:26 PM

A young man who suffered a wound to the head is evacuated via motorcycle:

3:22 PM

Civilian opposition groups set up a barricade to protect themselves from official Chavista forces. Paradoxically the communist regime is forcing the democratic opposition to adopt the tactics of the Paris Commune.

3:15 PM

Several members of the National Guard drag a Venezuelan woman on the street.

2:45 PM

Members of the opposition denounce the presence of armed paramilitaries standing next to the National Guard in Caracas:

2:37 PM

The protests in the gulf city of Maracaibo have turned into a street battle between demonstrators and the Chavista forces:

2:33 PM

Venezuelans are giving the world a lesson in courage today as the anti-Chavista marches proceed despite the regime’s thuggery.



2:30 PM

This scene is from Caracas today. Those who called today’s protest “the mother of all marches” likely did not exaggerate.



2:25 PM

More scenes from Maracaibo’s massive protests against dictator Maduro. The Chavista regime faces a nation-wide movement which appears to be venting its frustration as seldom before. How long can Maduro resist without turning to even worse repressive measures? Tear gas alone seems to have failed to intimidate the opposition and civil society.

2:20 PM

Lilian Tintori, wife of Leopoldo López, a political prisoner, warns that protesters in western Caracas are trapped as Chavista forces launch tear bombs against them from two flanks:

2:15 PM

Things are turning ugly in the city of Maracaibo as Chavista forces attack protesters:

2:10 PM

Citizens of Valencia show their own strength in numbers as they gather against the Chavista regime:

2:01 PM

Venezuelans are not cowed by Maduro’s aggressions. The Francisco Fajardo Highway in Caracas is full to the brim:

1:58 PM

Despite the regime’s heavy-handed tactics and widespread use of tear gas, the Venezuelan opposition to the Maduro dictatorship has mobilized an impressive number of citizens today:



1:55 PM

Medicine students aid a wounded demonstrator in Caracas:



1:50 PM

Anti-Maduro protests gain strength in Valencia:



1:48 PM

The National Guard repels protesters with high-powered water hoses, from a vehicle nicknamed “The Whale”, on Francisco Fajardo Highway in Caracas:

1:45 PM

17 year-old economics student Carlos José Moreno confirmed dead after receiving a gun shot in the back of the head during today’s anti-Maduro protests.

1:42 PM

The Venezuelan citizenry comes out en masse against the Maduro dictatorship:

1:40 PM

Members of the National Guard refuse to allow opposition congressmen and their followers to pass through their blockade.

1:37 PM

The streets of San Cristobal turn violent as the Maduro regime’s forces march against the civilian opposition.

1:32 PM

Protesters in Caracas throw themselves into the Gauire river in order to escape the tear gas which the Maduro dictatorship has used the entire day against peaceful demonstrators:

1:14 PM

The tally of injured protesters rises:

1:10 PM

Lilian Tintori, wife of Leopoldo López, a political prisoner, calls for peaceful protests as the Maduro regime steps up its repression:

1:06 PM

The current state of Francisco Fajardo Highway in Caracas:

1:05 PM

Strong showing for the opposition in the city of Valencia:

1:01 PM

Protesters in the city of Maracaibo also face the Maduro regime’s violence and generous use of tear gas.

12:55 PM

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles tweets about “heavy repression” on a Caracas highway, where citizens who oppose the Maduro dictatorship face attacks from the security forces.

12:50 PM

Journalist Melanio Escobar accuses members of the Venezuelan National Guard (GNB) of launching bombs filled with tear gas against private buildings and inside homes:

12:47 PM

An economics student was injured by gunfire during the protests. He is undergoing surgery in Caracas.

12:45 PM

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, a former presidential candidate, calls Maduro a compulsive liar before several news organizations including the PanAm Post:

12:35 PM

A Chavista gang of motorcyclists head toward Plaza Venezuela in Caracas in order to confront critics of the Maduro dictatorship.

12:30 PM

Protesters in Carabobo state march toward a highway as soldiers prepare to clash with them.

12:20 PM
Supporters of Voluntad Popular, the political party led by Leopoldo López, a political prisoner of the Maduro regime, protest in the state Zulia:

12:15 PM
Protesters in the coastal city of Cumaná:

12:10 PM
Twitter users denounce the regime’s repression against protesters, this time in the state of Guayana, where security forces assaulted a woman demonstrator.

12:08 PM
Prominent Venezuelan journalist Kiko Bautista speaks to the PanAm Post‘s Sabrina Martín about the prospects for today’s demonstrations:

12:00 PM
Opposition leader María Corina Machado tweets an image of several nuns joining the march against Maduro.

11:54 AM
Venezuela’s Attorney General calls on the security services to respect citizens’ right to protest.

11:15 AM
Opposition demonstrators gather in Altamira square in Caracas as they prepare to march on the adjacent highway:

Panam Post

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

Trump admin announces he will extend Obama Iran deal

"Iran and North Korea have been nuclear weapons partners for over 20 years.  North Korea's recent tests of missiles designed to strike the United States are almost exact copies of the missiles used by Iran.  Assisting North Korea's nuclear weapons program is NOT in compliance with the deal." - Donny

With a new White House, many have wondered about the fate of the 2015 nuclear agreement made between the Obama administration and Iran.

The Trump administration’s stance on the agreement became a little clearer on Tuesday when the administration notified Congress that Iran is complying with the terms of the agreement, and that the United States would therefore extend the sanctions relief granted to Iran as part of that agreement.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, wrote that Iran remained compliant with the agreement, but that the administration was concerned about Tehran’s support for terrorism and is reviewing whether to continue suspending sanctions, as required under the deal.

Congress mandated that the State Department must notify it every 90 days about Iran’s compliance with its nuclear obligations. Tuesday’s letter was the first such notification by the Trump administration.

President Donald J. Trump has directed a National Security Council-led interagency review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that will evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to Iran pursuant to the [agreement] is vital to the national security interests of the United States.

This statement casts doubt on whether the administration will continue to grant Iran sanctions relief in the future. At a minimum, it reinforces the administration’s previous warning that Tehran is “on notice” about its malign behavior.

The bottom line is that the Trump administration has approved 90 days more of sanctions relief for Iran. But the pending policy review may lead the president to withdraw this concession in the future.

Commentary by James Phillips. Originally published at The Daily Signal.

Still Waiting for Republicans to Drain the Swamp

On major economic issues, it does not appear that Republican control of Washington makes much of a difference.

• Efforts to repeal Obamacare have bogged down because GOPers are willing to deal with the fiscal wreckage of that law, but don’t seem very comfortable about undoing the interventions and regulations that have caused premiums to skyrocket.
• Efforts to cut taxes and reform the tax code don’t look very promising because House Republicans have proposed a misguided border-adjustment tax and the White House seems hopelessly divided on how to proceed.
• Efforts to restrain government spending haven’t gotten off the ground. A full budget is due next month, but it’s not overly encouraging that Trump’s proposed domestic cuts would be used to expand the Pentagon’s budget.

Let’s see whether we get a different story when we examine regulatory issues.

We’ll start with some good news. Well, sort of. It seems the United States has the largest and 4th-largest GDPs in the world.

You may think that makes no sense, but this is where we have to share some bad news on the regulatory burden from the Mercatus Center.

Economic growth has been reduced by an average of 0.8 percent per year from 1980 to 2012 due to regulatory accumulation. Regulations force companies to invest less in activities that enhance productivity and growth, such as research and development, as companies must divert resources into regulatory compliance and similar activities....Compared to a scenario where regulations are held constant at levels observed in 1980, the study finds that the difference between the economy we are in and a hypothetical economy where regulatory accumulation halted in 1980 is approximately $4 trillion. …The $4 trillion dollars in lost GDP associated with regulatory accumulation would be the fourth largest economy in the world—larger than major countries like Germany, France, and India.

By the way, this data from Mercatus gives me an opportunity to re-emphasize the importance of even small variations in economic growth. It may not make that much difference if the economy grows 0.8 percent faster or slower in one year.

But, as just noted, a loss of 0.8 percent annual growth over 32 years has been enormously expensive to the U.S. economy.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute has a depressing array of data on America’s regulatory burden. Here’s the chart that grabbed my attention.



And here’s a video on the burden of red tape from the folks at CEI.



Who deserves the blame for this nightmare of red tape?

The previous president definitely added to the regulatory morass. The Hill reported last year on a study by the American Action Forum.

The Obama administration issues an average of 81 major rules, those with an economic impact of at least $100 million, on a yearly basis, the study found. That’s about one major rule every four to five days, or, as the American Action Forum puts it, one rule for every three days that the federal government is open. “It is a $2,294 regulatory imposition on every person in the United States,” wrote Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy at the American Action Forum, who conducted the study.

And there was a big effort to add more red tape in Obama’s final days, as noted by Kimberly Strassel of the Wall Street Journal.

Since the election Mr. Obama has broken with all precedent by issuing rules that would be astonishing at any moment and are downright obnoxious at this point. This past week we learned of several sweeping new rules from the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, including regs on methane on public lands (cost: $2.4 billion); a new anti-coal rule related to streams ($1.2 billion) and renewable fuel standards ($1.5 billion).

As you might expect, the net cost of Obama’s regulatory excess is significant. Here’s some of what the Washington Examiner wrote during the waning days of Obama’s tenure.

According to new information from the White House, finally released after a two year wait, the total burden of federal government paperwork is more than 11.5 billion man-hours a year. That’s almost 500 million man-days, or 1.3 million man-years. More importantly, it’s 35 hours every person in the country (on average) has to spend doing federal paperwork every year, on average. …Time is money, and paperwork time alone costs the country almost $2 trillion a year, or about 11 percent of GDP.

But it’s not solely Obama’s fault. Not even close.

Both parties can be blamed for this mess, as reported by the Economist.

The call to cut red tape is now an emotive rallying cry for Republicans—more so, in the hearts of many congressmen, than slashing deficits. Deregulation will, they argue, unleash a “confident America” in which businesses thrive and wages soar, leaving economists, with their excuses for the “new normal” of low growth, red-faced. Are they right?

They may be right, but they never seem to take action when they’re in charge.

Between 1970 and 2008 the number of prescriptive words like “shall” or “must” in the code of federal regulations grew from 403,000 to nearly 963,000, or about 15,000 edicts a year… The unyielding growth of rules, then, has persisted through Republican and Democratic administrations… The endless pile-up of regulation enrages businessmen. One in five small firms say it is their biggest problem, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

Though I would point out that President Reagan was the exception to this dismal rule.

That being said, who cares about finger pointing? What matters is that the economy is being stymied by excessive red tape.

So what can be done about this? President Trump has promised a 2-for-1 deal, saying that his Administration will wipe out two existing regulations for every new rule that gets imposed.

Susan Dudley opines on this proposal, noting that Trump hasn’t put any meat on the bones.

Like pebbles tossed in a stream, each individual regulation may do little economic harm, but eventually the pebbles accumulate and like a dam, may block economic growth and innovation. A policy of removing two regulations for every new one would provide agencies incentives to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of those accumulated regulations and determine which have outlived their usefulness. Mr. Trump’s statement doesn’t provide details on how this new policy would work.

Ms. Dudley points out, however, that other nations have achieved some success with similar-sounding approaches.

…his team could look to experiences in other countries for insights. The Netherlands, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom have all adopted similar requirements to offset the costs of new regulations by removing or modifying existing rules of comparable or greater effect. …The Netherlands program established a net quantitative burden reduction target that reduced regulatory burdens by 20% between 2003 and 2007. It is currently on track to save €2.5 billion in regulatory burden between 2012 and 2017 by tying the introduction of new regulations “to the revision or scrapping of existing rules.” Under Canada’s “One-for-One Rule,” launched in 2012, new regulatory changes that increase administrative burdens must be offset with equal burden reductions elsewhere. Further, for each new regulation that imposes administrative burden costs, cabinet ministers must remove at least one regulation. Similarly, Australia’s policy is that “the cost burden of new regulation must be fully offset by reductions in existing regulatory burden.” The British began with a “One-in, One-out” policy, requiring any increases in the cost of regulation to be offset by deregulatory measures of at least an equivalent value. In 2013, it moved to “One-in, Two-out” (OITO) and more recently to a “One-in, Three-out” policy in an effort to cut red tape by £10 billion.

The bottom line is that progress will depend on Trump appointing good people. And on that issue, the jury is still out.

The legislative branch also could get involved.

In a column for Reason, Senator Rand Paul explained that the REINS Act could make a big difference.

…13 of the 15 longest registers in American history have been authored by the past two presidential administrations (Barack Obama owns seven of the top eight, with George W. Bush filling in most of the rest)…federal lawmakers should pass something called the REINS Act—the “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. The REINS Act would require every new regulation that costs more than $100 million to be approved by Congress. As it is now, agencies can pass those rules unilaterally. Such major rules only account for about 3 percent of annual regulations, but they are the ones that cause the most headaches for individuals and businesses. …the REINS Act did pass the House on four occasions during the Obama administration. Lack of support in the Senate and the threat of a presidential veto kept it from ever reaching Obama’s desk.

But would it make a difference if Congress had to affirm major new rules?

Given how agencies will lie about regulatory burdens, it wouldn’t be a silver bullet.

But, based on the hysterical opposition from the left, I’m betting the REINS Act would be very helpful.

REINS would fundamentally alter the federal government in ways that could hobble federal agencies during periods when the same party controls Congress and the White House — and absolutely cripple those agencies during periods of divided government. Many federal laws delegate authority to agencies to work out the details of how to achieve relatively broad objectives set by the law itself. …REINS, however, effectively strips agencies of much of this authority.

That sounds like good news to me. If the crazies at Think Progress are this upset about the REINS Act, it must be a step in the right direction.

Let’s close with a bit of evidence that maybe, just maybe, Republicans will move the ball in the right direction. Here are some excerpts from a Bloomberg story.

The White House estimates it will save $10 billion over 20 years by having rescinded 11 Obama-era regulations under a relatively obscure 1996 law that lets Congress fast-track repeal legislation with a simple majority. …In all, the law has been used to repeal 11 rules, with two more awaiting the president’s signature… About two dozen measures with CRA’s targeting them remain, but because the law can only be used on rules issued in the final six months of the previous administration, Congress only has only a few more weeks to use the procedure.

Before getting too excited, remember that the annual cost of regulation is about $2 trillion and the White House is bragging about actions that will reduce red tape by $10 billion over two decades. Which means annual savings of only $500 million.

Which, if my math is right, addresses 0.025 percent of the problem.

I’ll take it, but it should be viewed as just a tiny first step on a very long journey.

P.S. The Congressional Review Act was signed into law by Bill Clinton. Yet another bit of evidence that he was a surprisingly pro-market President.

P.P.S. If you want some wonky analysis of regulation, I have some detailed columns here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Republished from International Liberty.

Daniel J. Mitchell

Daniel J. Mitchell is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who specializes in fiscal policy, particularly tax reform, international tax competition, and the economic burden of government spending. He also serves on the editorial board of the Cayman Financial Review.

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

20 Practical Ways to Use Bacon Grease

Bacon are little strips of heaven and always makes everything better, doesn’t it? My family recently bought half of a pig from a local farmer and guess what was eaten first? That’s right, the delectable bacon. But what about the leftover bacon grease? This happens to be one of the most thrown away items, but can serve more than one purpose. There are many ways to use this healthy animal fat and in our quest to be less of a throw away generation, it’s time we learn how this useful byproduct can be used.

Fats are one of the four main food sources that should be in your food pantry. Those who are prepper-oriented know of the important role that fats have in our nutrition, especially during times of emergencies.

1. Fats are an essential component in any diet for proper vitamin absorption. Specifically, Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they can only be digested, absorbed, and transported in conjunction with fats.
2. Fats also plays a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function.
3. They also serve as energy stores for the body.
4. Fats are also sources of essential fatty acids, which are an important dietary requirement and also serves as a useful buffer towards a host of diseases. (Source)
5. Fats are one of the 4 things you must eat to avoid malnutrition.

As a southern girl, we always had bacon on the weekends and my mother would pour the fat into a metal grease collector and put in our fridge. When my mother needed to add some extra “flavor” to dishes, she would take a spoonful or two and add it turnip greens or to use for grandma’s famous biscuits. I could go on and on about how to cook with bacon grease (I did include a few in the list), but I know that you all probably know those secrets too. Instead, I wanted to share some more practical applications you can use bacon grease for. But first, you need to know how to properly store this animal fat.

To Store Bacon Grease:

2 pounds of bacon will create 3/4 cup-1 cup of bacon grease

Reserve an old coffee tin or bacon grease crock and pour over a paper towel or strainer while it is hot to get out the little bacon bits. Lard will keep longer if you strain it because the meat bits are the first thing that will go rancid.

If you’re using a glass container to store bacon grease, allow the grease to cool before pouring it into the container so the glass will not to break  from the extreme temperature change. Some people have used coffee mugs to avoid this problem.

When the grease is cool it will be an off white to brown color depending on how the bacon was cooked and at what temperature.

Cover your container with a lid or plastic wrap to keep outside smells from flavoring your grease.  Many people claim that it can be kept indefinitely on the countertop but I keep mine in the fridge just to be sure. You can also freeze it for longer storage.

Bacon grease will last 6-9 months in your refrigerator or freezer.

20 Uses for Bacon Grease

Leftover bacon grease has many uses including a quick splinter removal or even making a quick candle (See how easy this is below). As well, consider these other additional uses for bacon grease.

1. Those who are interested in natural living will be happy to know that it can also be used for biofuel. One a side note, if a vehicle was run solely on bacon grease, would that make it a bacon mobile? I kid, I kid; but if you plan on using lard for this, make sure the lard or grease is filtered to remove any bits of leftover food.
2. Did you know that lard can be used as a preservation method? Many homesteaders swear by this method. Author, Carla Emery explains how to do this in her bestselling book, The Encyclopedia of Country Living.
   

   “The fat seals the air out… After slaughtering a hog, the fat was rendered into lard. Those cuts of the hog that were not cured for smoking, or made into sausage, like the shoulder, were fried. While still hot, these slices of pork steak were preserved through the winter by larding. In a large crock, layer on layer of the fried steaks was covered with hot lard. This meat was then used through the winter by scraping the lard off each layer. The amount necessary for a meal was removed and reheated. The used lard was reused in pies or other baking or cooking and ultimately for soap.”

3. Make cookies just like grandma with these bacon fat ginger snaps.
4. Reward your dog with homemade bacon flavored dog biscuits. Along those lines, you can also drizzle a little bacon grease in your dog’s food bowl and this will encourage Fido to eat his food.
5. Season your skillet or your cast iron cookware.
6. Make bacon gravy. Did you mom ever make cream gravy? All you need is some milk, flour and bacon grease and this will make your meal sing! Here’s a recipe you can use.
7. Make a candle – Pour the bacon grease in a cup or can, and place a wick inside. Give the grease a few minutes to soak into the wick, and then place it in the fridge until it solidifies. Viola! You now have the best smelling candle that money didn’t buy (at least if you like the smell of breakfast).
8. Bacon grease is a great substitution for butter. 1 tablespoon of bacon grease can be used in place of butter or oil in just about any recipe; and don’t even get me started on how delicious bacon grease is with sauteing potatoes!
9. Make some handy firestarters for your next camping trip by dipping a cotton ball or a piece of tinder in the fat and storing it in an unused Altoids tin can. Voila! You could even use bacon grease that has accidentally been left out and gone rancid, to make the most of what you have.
10. Who wouldn’t want to bathe themselves with some bacon soap? You can use just about any animal fat to make soap, including bacon grease.
11. How about some tasty pemmican? This Native American superfood is made of fat (typically deer fat but any will do), jerky made from lean meat, and dried fruits and/or berries. You just ball up the ingredients in equal parts and tuck it away. Here’s a great recipe!
12. If you’ve run out of your leather boot protectant and need a quick alternative, animal fat is the way to go! In fact, one of the secrets that backpackers have used to waterproof boots is with animal fats.
13. Make a bird feeder! The Girl Scouts taught me this one. Take a pine cone and cover it with bacon grease and then sprinkle wild bird seed over it. This is a great craft you can do with your kids!
14. Fix those squeaky hinges! Add a dollop of bacon grease to a rag and grease hinges. They should quiet down without a problem. This will also work on squeaky wheels!
15. Trap bugs. You can trap annoying bugs by placing a plastic container of bacon grease and a bit of vegetable oil in a common bug area. The oil will be too thick for bugs to fly out of, trapping them for life.
16. Moisturize your hands and heels. Cracked hands and heels can be very painful. Instead of Vaseline, rub some bacon grease on your heels. Apply a bit before bedtime, put on your socks and get cozy. In the morning, your feet will be brand new again and soft as ever. This is because animal fat contains vitamins A, D, K, and E.
17. Grease your muffin, pie or cake pans. This will no doubt add just a touch of bacon flavor to your baked goods, but who wouldn’t want that?
18. Stop boiling pots from overflowing. I just learned this handy little trick. By dropping a bit of oil or bacon grease into the pan when boiling pasta will help it not boil over.
19. Take your sandwiches to the next level with baconnaise. Here’s the recipe. You’re welcome. You could even add a spoonful of bacon grease to condiments like ketchup or barbecue sauce to give it a little extra flavor.
20. Pour used bacon grease into a tuna or cat food can, chill until firm, and wire the can to a tree to give your feathered visitors some food. Bacon grease may be gross to some of us, but it attracts bluebirds, crows, jays, ravens, starlings, woodpeckers and Carolina wrens.

Now that you know twenty more ingenious ways to use bacon grease, it’s time to get crackin’! This healthy animal fat is one of the most popular and one that adds the most flavor to any recipe. Best of all, it’s free with your bacon; so don’t let it go to waste!

How do you use leftover bacon grease?

Tess Pennington is the author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, a comprehensive guide that uses real-life scenarios to help you prepare for any disaster. Because a crisis rarely stops with a triggering event the aftermath can spiral, having the capacity to cripple our normal ways of life. The well-rounded, multi-layered approach outlined in the Blueprint helps you make sense of a wide array of preparedness concepts through easily digestible action items and supply lists.

Tess is also the author of the highly rated Prepper’s Cookbook, which helps you to create a plan for stocking, organizing and maintaining a proper emergency food supply and includes over 300 recipes for nutritious, delicious, life-saving meals. 

Visit her web site at ReadyNutrition.com for an extensive compilation of free information on preparedness, homesteading, and healthy living.

This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition

5 Prepper Firearms to Have When Trouble Comes

This segment is going to cover five weapons in particular that you should familiarize yourself with and train up on.  You don’t necessarily have to buy these weapons or even know a private individual that has them, although either case would benefit you.  One of the suggestions I make will depend heavily on the state you reside in.  There are many gun shops and firearms ranges that will “rent” a weapon to you…even full-automatic weapons…for use in their range.  Let’s cover five weapons that it would behoove you to train on: two pistols, two rifles, and a shotgun.

5 Prepper Firearms to Have When the SHTF

1. AR-15: The mainstay of the U.S. Armed Forces (M-16, now the M-4) for the past fifty years. It’s not going to be mothballed anytime soon.  Those .223 rounds are about as common as they will ever be.  Everything in the military and law enforcement is geared around this system.  M16A4 and the M-4 carbine being the designators for the model carried by the U.S. Armed forces.  Cyclic Rate of Fire: 700 – 900 rpm (rounds per minute).  Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm.  Effective Range: 500 meters/550 yards.
2. AK-47: Widely available in semiautomatic form, firing a 7.62 x 39 mm round. The Russian ammo is harder to come by now; the Chinese ammo is more readily available, and the rounds are coated, unlike the Russian rounds.  Winchester and Remington also make “boxer” primed rounds that can be reloaded.  The full-auto version can be found in your higher-end ranges and fired for a price.  Cyclic Rate of Fire: 600 rpm.  Effective Range: 300 meters/328 yards.  The availability, coupled with the fact that the upgraded versions are almost identical is the reason to train on such a weapon…a rifle that, if the “Red Dawn” scenario occurs, you will surely see again…and possibly need to employ.
3. Beretta 9 mm Pistol: A semiautomatic pistol in service with the U.S. military for more than 30 years. Effective Range: 45 meters/50 yards.  Rate of Fire: Semiautomatic.  Caliber: 9 x 19 mm.  The U.S. military phased out the M1911 for “economics and accuracy,” only to find the stopping power is less than the .45, which is presently experiencing a resurgence and possible complete return.  Still, the 9mm Beretta is an excellent “starter pistol” to train with: it’s still in service in the military and law enforcement and is not disappearing anytime soon.
4. M1911 Pistol: A semiautomatic pistol, arguably (and I follow the “pro” argument) one of the finest weapons ever produced. In service with the military more than half a century.    Effective Range: 45 meters/50 yards.  Rate of Fire: Semiautomatic.  Caliber: .45 ACP.  The U.S. military should have never let it go…for a good recap on the .45 cartridge, refer to my recent article at ReadyNutrition entitled “The Great Defender: You’ll Want This By Your Side When It Hits the Fan.”  Stopping power, ease of operation, and durability…you can’t do better.  The 1911 is making a comeback and is as plentiful as ever.
5. Mossberg model 500-Series 12-gauge shotgun: As Rage Against the Machine so eloquently phrased it, “Pistol grip pump on my lap at all times!” Yes, indeed, the 500 series is the successor to the Remington 870 (another beauty that brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it).  You can do no finer.  Stick with that pistol grip pump or leave that stock on the back if you feel more comfortable.  Many recommend the Bennelli Black Eagle, etc., in semiautomatic version, but the semis tend to jam in a manner that the pump shotgun does not.  Stagger your ammo with 12-gauge slugs and 000 (“triple-ought”) buckshot.  Effective range is about 25 meters (50 feet) unless you train with it frequently for longer distances.  In any event, what’s in front of you will go down.

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By training with these weapons, you will be familiarizing yourself with firearms you will definitely see in one way, shape, or form in a SHTF scenario.  Learning how to operate these will stimulate you to develop skills and perhaps to purchase one or more in civilian/legal ownership form.  There are also plenty of qualified instructors to be found in these ranges, and a high-end range that is worth its salt will provide one for you to familiarize you with the weapon free of charge before you fire it.  Keep your powder dry, don’t stop the training, and try out these five…you won’t be disappointed.  JJ out!

Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson was a Special Forces Medic, EMT and ACLS-certified, with comprehensive training in wilderness survival, rescue, and patient-extraction. He is a Certified Master Herbalist and a graduate of the Global College of Natural Medicine of Santa Ana, CA. A graduate of the U.S. Army’s survival course of SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape), Mr. Johnson also successfully completed the Montana Master Food Preserver Course for home-canning, smoking, and dehydrating foods.

Mr. Johnson dries and tinctures a wide variety of medicinal herbs taken by wild crafting and cultivation, in addition to preserving and canning his own food. An expert in land navigation, survival, mountaineering, and parachuting as trained by the United States Army, Mr. Johnson is an ardent advocate for preparedness, self-sufficiency, and long-term disaster sustainability for families. He and his wife survived Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Cross-trained as a Special Forces Engineer, he is an expert in supply, logistics, transport, and long-term storage of perishable materials, having incorporated many of these techniques plus some unique innovations in his own homestead.

Mr. Johnson brings practical, tested experience firmly rooted in formal education to his writings and to our team. He and his wife live in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with their three cats.

This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition