70-Year-Old Grandmother Shoots Intruder: ‘Kill Him Before He Kills Me!’

A 70-year-old grandmother took her safety upon herself and shot an intruder when he broke into her Philadelphia home. Maxine Thompson said the only thing going through her mind was self-preservation: “Kill him before he kills me.”

The entire incident began as Thompson slept in her home. She was awoken at 4:30 am to the sound of someone breaking into her house. “First I thought I was dreaming, and then I looked out the window, outside. I was still hearing the banging, banging, banging, so I yelled to whoever, ‘Who’s that on my door? Get off my door, get off my door,’” Thompson recalled.

Police confirmed Thompson’s recollection, as Fox News reported that a 43-year-old man did try to force his way into her house at that time.

Despite her verbal warnings, the alleged burglar didn’t stop and continued to smash her dining room window and enter her house. Thompson, going into survival mode, grabbed her late mother’s handgun and shot at the suspect. She told Fox 29 it was her first time using the gun. “I shot at him. He turned around and he ran and when he ran, I ran down the steps behind him and shot at him some more,” Thompson recalled. “Kill him before he kills me. That’s what was going through my mind.”

The alleged burglar was struck while Thompson fired at him several times. He ran to a nearby car wash and called the police to report he’d been shot, Fox 29 reported. He was arrested, taken to the hospital and treated for a gunshot wound to his upper arm.

Thompson, whose son is a Philadelphia police officer, said the incident played out within 10 minutes. She recalled how the suspect could have killed her if she didn’t fire the gun.

“After everything was over, then I did get a little shaky. He could’ve killed me,” the grandmother said. Thompson just hopes the intruder will think twice before attempting to violate other’s rights saying she hopes she taught him and other people a lesson. “Stay the hell out of people’s houses,” Thompson said.

As for her broken window, she replied: “I have people that will come and fix this. It’ll be fixed in no time.”

7 Off-Grid (And Overlooked) Ways To Heat Your Home

Image source: FireSpeaking.com

The most common methods in the United States for home heating are electricity, gas, oil and wood. However, when it comes to keeping your home warm in the winter, there are countless options available — especially for those who live off grid.

Corn Burning and Multi-Fuel Pellet/Corn stoves

If your parents or grandparents were alive during the Great Depression, chances are they burned corn during the winter to stay warm due to the much lower cost of it compared to coal. Today, true corn burning, and multi-fuel stoves, are making a comeback.

Shelled corn burns at roughly 8,000 BTUs which is similar to wood pellets, and depending on where you live, a bag of shelled corn for heating may actually cost you much less. If you live in an area where the cost of both is about the same, consider a multi-fuel stove that allows you to burn either one, giving you greater flexibility, particularly if there is an unexpected price hike.

Masonry Heaters

Masonry heaters are a very old design that are being re-imagined for today’s green homes. Built of brick, tile, soapstone, natural stone or a combination of those materials, a masonry heater consists of a firebox and channels or partitions used for heat-exchange.

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Because of the way the materials absorb the heat and release it, the heat itself only burns wood for a short time and then radiates it back into the home for up to 36 hours.

Wood-Burning Furnaces or Boilers

If you like the idea of a wood stove or fireplace but want the convenience of a complete home heating system, you many want to look into the ever-expanding market of wood-burning furnaces. Some are easier to retrofit on to an existing home then others, so be sure to do your research. Both indoor and outdoor units are available.

Rocket Stove Mass Heater

Rocket stove mass heaters were developed from the highly efficient wood burning rocket stoves, and masonry heaters. The idea behind it is that the wood fuel is burned at extremely high heat while a large thermal mass absorbs the heat from the exhaust gases. There are a variety of videos and tutorials online, and they can be built in just a few days.

Air-to-Water Radiant Heat

The concept of using hot water to heat your house isn’t new, but these two ideas may never have crossed your mind.  If you have a backup generator that uses liquid cooling to keep the engine cool during use, one idea would be to plumb the cooling system through a radiator inside your home and possibly have it selectable to only use an outside radiator during summer and the inside radiator during the cooler months.  A second idea could also be to use a small pump to circulate water through solar heating tubes outside and then plumb those water lines inside the home to the radiator.  This could work on those sunny days when the temperature is cold, but the sun will heat the water or fluid used to transport the heat inside.

Air-to-Air Radiant Heat

In a similar manner to the previous idea on radiant heat, a system could collect cooler air from outside and pass it through a solar heat collector that would heat the air before being piped into your home. Again, this would work on cold days that had sun that can heat the solar tubes before a pump pushes the air inside.

Solar Window Boxes

Depending on where you live, Solar Window Boxes may be more of a supplemental heating source than a whole house solution. The idea behind them is pretty simple; they are an airtight box made of translucent materials which allows for the sun to warm the air. In turn the warm air enters the home via ducting or other openings into the window of your home.

Solar Window Boxes can be constructed fairly cheaply, although there are also commercially made products available. Several good videos and tutorials are available online.

There are many ways to heat your home. The true limitation is just the depth of your imagination.

What advice would you add? Share it in the section below:

OPERATION BANDIT – AN ABANDONED SERVICE DOG COMES HOME

By Faye Higbee   9/29/2017Operation Bandit is the journey of a service dog that ended up in a kill shelter and then the wrong home, when he was supposed to go to a veteran who was waiting for him. From an organization that unites service dogs with new homes to US Marine veterans, to a Marine veteran Police officer, to an Army veteran, it became a military mission to unite Derek with Bandit.

“See, a few weeks ago, someone sent me a link to a poor service dog down in Florida that had been abandoned in a kill shelter. His name was Bandit.  I could tell a lot by just the photo; he looked alone and sad, kind of like he had no one and just wished he had someone to rescue him and love him like they cared.  I thought to myself, holy crap that dog is me!  We have to find each other.”  Derek Chambers, US Army veteran

But it was tough trying to find each other in the middle of a convoluted series of problems.

Bandit’s journey began when a 3rd party organization contacted Derek and told him about a service dog at a shelter.

A “3rd party contacted him with our plea and then promised him Bandit when they couldn’t make that promise and then made it out to him that we went back on our promise. Not the case. We found out about Derek when they raised a fuss and let him know what happened so he was our number one choice when the family didn’t work.” Dena Van De Vanter

Derek was so excited he couldn’t sleep. His own Service Dog Maggie had unexpectedly passed away, and he wondered if he would ever be able to have a Service Dog again. Mila Leonard, founder of RWBDogTags  (Red, White, and Blue Dog Tags) and  Dena Van De Vanter at RWB, worked tirelessly in an effort to get Bandit to his forever home.

Dena contacted Derek and asked if he was still interested.

“Hell, Yeah!” was the response.

But his heart breaking response to Dena’s phone call was,

“If you get him to me, you’re not going to take him away from me are you?”

The route through the wrong home

Someone else had ended up with Bandit, but it didn’t work out and he once again was left without a forever home. He might have ended up at the Polk County Shelter, which generally euthanizes animals left there within a few hours.  But Operation Bandit was about to kick into high gear.

Operation Bandit

The dog was in Florida, and Derek was in Tennessee…a little logistics issue. RWB reached out to every one they could think of for transport, most of whom  could have cared less. “Meh” was the response from most, according to Dena.

They finally contacted Gail Fogel Pierce, who transports animals to better homes regularly. She was ready to go. It seemed as if they found the perfect method. A veterinarian examined Bandit and certified him healthy for travel. It was all set.

Until Gail was admitted to the hospital with a serious back injury and couldn’t take him to his new home.

An active duty Navy sailor also volunteered to take Bandit to Tennessee. But then Hurricane Irma hit. So that transport fell through as well, since it was unlikely that his CO would understand that he was rescuing a dog instead of reporting for duty.

The Military Mission Begins

RWB member Dade Newell, USMC veteran, had just moved to Florida, and started contacting his military friends, including Rick at Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children, who called Bill Simmons. Bill is a Marine Veteran, former military dog handler (5812), who is a member of the Oath Keepers.

He contacted Officer Nathan Naumann of the Pinellas Park Police, also a Marine veteran and dog handler, who went and picked up Bandit as his house guest until the path to his new dad could be ironed out. That action prevented Bandit from ending up in the kill shelter once again.

Bill told us that as soon as Bandit got to Officer Nathan’s home, he had perked up his ears and was “smiling” – he knew he was among friends.

“Ma’am, the Marines have landed.  You tell them, we’ve got this and will take care of our brother (Bandit) in need.” Bill Simmons

Bandit gives Officer Nathan goodbye kisses

Now they needed to get Bandit from Officer Nathan’s home to Derek in Tennessee. A homeless Army Veteran, Ian Carter, who himself has been going through hard times, volunteered to take Bandit to Derek. Because RWB didn’t want him to use his own limited resources, they planned to pay his gas and lodging for the trip, but he refused.

Ian and Bandit left early Thursday morning, 9-28-2017,  on the last leg of the journey.

Operation Bandit Completed

The moment Derek and Bandit are finally united!

Ian Carter, Bandit, and Derek Chambers

As you can see from the photos, Ian made it to meet up with Derek. Bandit is with his new Dad in a forever home. But if you thought that story ended there, you’d be mistaken.

Epilogue

The ladies at RWB Dog Tags went to work, and Mila was able to score a place for Ian to live. There will now be one less homeless veteran in America, thanks to their efforts!

As for Derek, he suffered a TBI during deployment, and has PTSD, which is why he needed a dog who would be with him at all times. He found that being outdoors, hunting and fishing helped him with the symptoms. So he founded an organization called Rifles to Reels.

“Bandit means everything. He is my key to leading the same life that everyone else lives. It’s hard not being able to go anywhere public because you don’t feel secure. It’s bad not to be able to feel like a normal person while just trying to do something as simple as go out to eat. For everyone to look at you weird when you ask for a table in the back so you can see the door and everyone inside. He gives me that security.” Derek Chambers

Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children

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The $70,000 Solar-Heated ‘Earthship’ Home That’s Completely Off Grid

Imagine living in an off-grid home and not ever receiving a utility bill – no electric bill, no water bill, no sewer bill. Even better, you don’t have to stockpile firewood, because your home is heated by the sun.

Sound impossible? It’s not. It is called an earthship home, and on this week’s edition of Off The Grid Radio we take a look at these unique houses that are revolutionizing what it means to live off-grid. Our guest is Craig Cook, who lives in an earthship home with his wife Connie in Canada – where temperatures in the winter often hover around 0 degree Fahrenheit.

Incredibly, their home cost only $70,000.

Craig tells us:

• How his house stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer, without a stove or AC.


• What is different between an earthship home and a typical homestead house.


• How he and his wife have all the water they need – without a well or utility hook-up.


• Why his home incorporates hundreds of used tires … that he got for free.

Craig also shares with us the pros and cons of an earthship home for those considering making the transition. If you’re a homesteader, off-gridder or simply someone who enjoys fascinating people, then don’t miss this week’s show!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:38 — 61.0MB)

Americans “Worry About Hunger and Homelessness” As Income Drops, Jobs Dry Up

While those at the top of the heap are getting richer than ever, millions upon millions of Americans are struggling more than ever before.

As a general institution, jobs for the masses increasingly feature frozen wages, evaporating benefits, part time hours, and less than stellar opportunities.

For these people, just getting by can be very stressful.

And that is being reflected in a big way in a recent Gallup pole that has captured unprecedented levels of concern among lower income people who are statistically terrified of losing their grip.

via Wolf Richter of Wolf Street:

Lower-income Americans worry more in general than those with higher incomes. Everything is riskier and tougher for them. But nothing compares to the worries about hunger and homelessness. Gallup:

Since 2001, worry has been highest among those residing in lower-income households, likely because those with limited financial resources are more at risk of going hungry or becoming homeless. A consistent majority of lower-income adults worried about the problem before 2012, but that has only increased in the past five years.

[…]

On average, across the 13 issues, the percentage of lower-income adults who worry a great deal is seven percentage points higher than among middle-income Americans, and 17 points higher than among upper-income Americans.

But differences in concern about hunger and homelessness far exceed those norms. In fact, the 20-point difference in worry about hunger and homelessness between lower-income and middle-income Americans is higher than for any of the other issues. Similarly, the 30-point difference in worry about hunger and homelessness between lower-income and upper-income Americans ties for the highest, along with concern about crime and violence.

Turns out, among Americans making $30,000 or less a year, 67% worry “a great deal” about hunger and homelessness! Food and shelter, two of the most basic human needs. That’s the highest percentage ever in Gallup’s data series on this question going back to 2001.

Obviously everyone already knows that poor people struggle more than well-off people whose needs are easily provided.

The unknown here is why those who are making less than $30,000 per year are so much MORE worried about hunger, homelessness and ‘just the basics’ than they were fifteen years ago.

Moreover, why are the middle class people – making a healthy $30k-$75k also more worried than they have been about personally being homeless and hungry?

What has changed?

Though it is hard to pinpoint, there has been a squeeze on the economy. Somewhere out there, there is a monster.

The glut of money created to give the banks liquidity was reinvested back into government bonds, and companies own stocks. Investment did not, generally, trickle down to the working man. Jobs weren’t created, and a recovery never happened. And many people are on the brink of losing everything – obviously many of those making at or under $30,000 are finding it pretty difficult to make it through.

The disillusionment hasn’t helped. Even with an expanded SNAP government food aid program, people are more freaked out than they ever have been about how food is going to be put on their table, and about how they are going to keep a roof over their head.

The level of worry here is frightening enough in of itself.

As Wolf Richter asked, is there some particular reason why things have suddenly “gotten a lot riskier, scarier, and uglier in some profound ways for lower-income Americans, those making $30,000 or less a year?”

Read more:

A Hidden America: Living in Cars, Tents and Cheap Motels *Video Report*

This Is How To Survive If You Lose Everything (Including Your Home)

What American Dream? “The Middle Class Is Dying And Poverty Is On The Rise”

Americans Pay More In Taxes Each Year Than “Food, Clothing, and Housing Combined”

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Author: Mac Slavo
Views: Read by 683 people
Date: April 6th, 2017
Website: www.SHTFplan.com

Copyright Information: Copyright SHTFplan and Mac Slavo. This content may be freely reproduced in full or in part in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to www.shtfplan.com. Please contact us for permission to reproduce this content in other media formats.

5 Strange Ways Your Ancestors Saved Fuel During Winter

Our first home was built in 1907 and boasted drafty windows and a minimal amount of insulation. Before our first winter came to an end, we knew changes had to be made if we were to survive in any amount of comfort. Staying warm at the expense of draining our savings account was not an option. And although we have since moved on to a well-insulated home, we still employ many of the fuel-saving practices we learned many years ago.

Our ancestors knew how to conserve energy. Whether it was using nature’s colder temperatures for food storage or keeping the house warm without turning the thermostat up a single degree, they utilized ordinary objects to conserve fuel.

Below are some time-tested methods to put into practice this winter.

1. Window coverings

Windows are points of entry for cold air, and although new windows are certainly more effective, they still cool the room. Foam tapes, clear films and other products abound at big box home improvement centers, but these are unnecessary and may in fact cause damage to your home. Foam tapes are often difficult to remove completely, damaging the finish of the casement and sill.

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Clear films have been known to cause cracked window panes, particularly on south-facing windows. Years ago, homeowners used quilted window coverings to block drafts, raising the temperature of a room by several degrees. In addition to windows, glass patio doors also can be covered with an insulated curtain to reduce the amount of heat lost.

2. Straw bales

Using straw bales around the foundation of your home may not increase its’ curb appeal, but it will help to keep your fuel costs down by adding an extra layer of protection against cold winter winds. Place bales where they can absorb the greatest impact from winter’s worst weather. The bales also may help to prevent heat loss. Straw bales may later be used as livestock bedding, mulched for compost or used elsewhere on the homestead, provided it is dry, and mold- and mildew-free.

3. Humidifiers

We are not talking about the commercial humidifiers that release moisture in the air, but rather, the strategic use of space on an indoor burner. Cast iron kettles filled with water will release moisture in the air when safely situated on a fuel-burning stove. Even if you do not have an indoor wood burner or corn burner, you can utilize other appliances as humidifiers.

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For example, once you’re finished using your kitchen oven, place a dish of water in it while leaving the door ajar. As the oven cools down, it will heat the water enough to release moisture into the air. Indoor air that has the proper level of humidity feels warmer.

4. Cover bare floors

Bare floors keep a room from retaining heat and contribute to an overall chilly feeling. Using area rugs to cover wood or tiled floors will not only keep your feet warmer, but also will raise the ambient temperature by a few degrees. Rugs can, of course, be purchased, but old quilts, toweling, and scraps tied into rag rugs work just as well.

5. Door rolls

From a unique design that matches your interior to the thrift store quilt, a roll of material stopping drafts from entering your home is essential to any fuel-saving plan. Scrap material can be fashioned into a tube that can be filled with numerous things to block cold winter air. Fill the tube with densely packed material. Rice or sand are both common options, but materials such as recycled quilt batting or scraps of denim are also very effective.

Do you know of other time-tested ways to keep the house warm? Share your tips in the section below: 

NYC Homelessness Record High Despite Falling Unemployment Rate

Submitted by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Salil Mehta at Statistical Ideas investigates the homeless rate in New York City. Mehta notes the streets are flourishing with a severe homelessness problem that’s escalating briskly despite a falling unemployment rate.

Please consider a The Empire City of Homelessness.

Annual Growth Rate of Homeless

Record High Homeless

Note the huge surge in homelessness after the Great Recession ended.

Curiously, New York City is also the only place in the U.S. required to provide temporary housing to anyone needing it. Yet as homelessness rises across big cities nationally, it rose at the fastest clip in the Big Apple.

City-by-City Comparison

War on Homelessness

Mehta wisely avoids offering solutions. “We don’t provide any strong remedy for such a complex and expensive social issue,” says Mehta.

The government-sponsored war on poverty failed as have all sorts of other ridiculous wars, including real wars.

Moreover, the war on terror has turned into a war of terror.

@salilstatistics NYC Homelessness Record High. https://t.co/pAeqhU69Q0 If free shelter doesn"t work, then free shelter cannot be the answer.

— Mike Mish Shedlock (@MishGEA) January 5, 2017