Blog | Strategic Living

Is Ethical Journalism Dead?

In late January, life, as we know it today, was quite different. We were free to come and go as we please, to get a haircut, dine at a local pub, and mingle with our friends. The news of the day was mostly about politics and as disgusting as that can be at times, it was what it was. Or was it?

More and more I became enmeshed and outraged by the news of the day and the bias of the mainstream media. This was nothing new since my disdain for the MSM actually began over ten years ago and was part of the catalyst for becoming a prepper and starting my first website, Backdoor Survival. But what was happening now was worse – a lot worse. What was being passed to the unenlightened was opinion disguised as news. It was disgusting.

As much as I dislike the term “Fake News”, indeed, that is what I was hearing and reading. Hypocrisy was the rule rather than the exception and I was mad. Do you remember that line from the movie Network? “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” That is how I felt.

In order to vent, I reached out to my pal George Ure (Urban Survival) to vent a bit. As some of you know, George spent part of his career as a broadcast journalist and was the news director for a top Seattle radio station. He was both well respected and well connected in the industry and was nothing if not 100% credible.

What follows is an interview I did with George before COVID-19 dominated the news. I have sat on it for a few months thinking that in the big picture of things, perhaps it was no longer relevant. Of course, I was wrong. Questioning the ethics of journalism now, more than ever, is important. As our liberty is being challenged and our right to free speech suppressed, what George has to say is timely.

Life as we know it has indeed changed and may never return. Corrupt politicians and their partners, the lame-stream media, are accelerating changes I thought I would never see in my lifetime.

Enjoy (if you can) my interview with George and let me know what you think.

The Big Book of Homemade Products for Your Skin, Health & Home + Recipe & Giveaway

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I don’t remember exactly when I embraced DIY other than to recall that I used vinegar and water as a household cleaner when I was a mostly-broke college student. Over the years, I became interested in natural homemade products and experimented not only with simple household cleaners, but also personal products such as cleansers, salves, and home remedies.

More recently I have turned to soap making and you might say the rest is history.

While teaching myself to make soap, I discovered Jan Berry and her blog, The Nerdy Farm Wife. I purchased a couple of her books and was hooked. When I learned that her book of homemade products was being updated and expanded, I knew I just had to have it.

This wonderful book is suitable for every kitchen chemist and in this article, I will tell you why. I am also going to share the recipe for a Calendula Spice and Honey Scrub that I have made myself and, in my usual style, offer a copy of the book in a giveaway.

Bread for Survival & Comfort: Five Recipes You Can Make Today

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Over the years, I have been a bread maker and bread eater. I have ground my own flour and hand-kneaded bread. I have also used an automatic bread machine where dump and go made homemade bread easy and quick. In between, I mastered creating a sourdough starter and making a no-knead dough in large buckets that could provide fresh bread for a two week period.

Making bread was something I did because I enjoyed the process and enjoyed the comfort it brought in knowing I was learning a powerful survival skill that could come in handy down the road.

So here we are today, in a SHTF situation that is putting us in survival mode. Bakers and non-bakers alike are starting to make bread while most of our country is in lock-down and we are advised to stay at home.

If you are like me, you have a lot of flour, wheat, salt and sugar in your survival pantry. In addition, you have a few pounds of yeast stashed away in your freezer so that it stays fresh and viable. We are the lucky ones because I have heard about major shortages that are frustrating some would-be bakers.

True confession: I have been making two loaves of low-carb bread a week since earlier this year. My bread has its beginnings in a mix from Bob’s Red Mill but to my consternation, the mix has been discontinued and I am seriously bummed. With low carb and Keto diets being so popular, I was hoping to share my recipe with you this week. Instead, I am going back to the kitchen so I can come up with a recipe that is not reliant on a commercial mix. Stay tuned for that.

So, for now, my pal Ron Brown (author of the Non-Electric Lighting Series) is stepping in with five simple bread recipes that are super good, super easy and tried and true. The best part is that two of the five do not require yeast.

Let’s get started.

Gaye Levy’s Strategic View

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Today I share with you The Strategic View. Instead of a full-blown article, my goal with the Strategic View is to share snippets of news, information, and opinion, as well as an update of what I am personally doing to stay prepared while pursuing what I fondly refer to as a “Strategic Life”.

Give it a read and if you are so inclined, leave a comment with suggested topics you would like to see me cover. Feel free to get upfront and personal, okay?

Most of what I cover today is related to the current COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the globe.

Prepare Your Home and Protect Yourself from Coronavirus

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I have sat down at my computer and written an article addressing Coronavirus at least three times in as many weeks and yet nothing has been posted publicly. Why? It is my opinion that there is too much that is unknown. How is it spread? What is the contagion period? How many have been affected? How long does it stay dormant in an unaffected individual that is a carrier? What does the scientific community really know? And perhaps most significant, is it a biological mutant or manmade?

We can speculate and make some educated guesses but let’s be real. COVID-19 (the official name for this strain of novel coronavirus) is still a mystery. Just when the experts think that contagion is spread by person to person contact via droplets emitted from the mouth or nose, a case emerges where there has been no contact with an individual from an affected area. The bottom line is we don’t know for sure and I, for one, do not care to speculate.

That leaves me with something I can do which is to share what I have done to prepare for this virus and a pandemic in general.

Before I start, I must fully disclose that I have been pandemic ready for years. I have extensive sick room supplies, including protective clothing and hazardous waste disposal supplies. I have stockpiles of food, water, medicine, and a myriad of other items that will be useful in the unlikely but possible need for a self-imposed quarantine. That being said, I am getting a ton of questions from preppers and non-preppers alike asking for guidance.

All I can do is share what I have done and am doing and leave it up to you to come to your own decision as to what you should or should not do.