Issue #003, August 29, 2008. In This Issue...

The Importance of Self-Reliance: When did we start running to the government for everything?

Get More Done In Less Time

Join the Urban Chicken Movement: Ten Tips to Bring Your Flock Into Your Residential Backyard

How to Get A Chicken Ordinance Passed in Your Community

A Great Internet Business That Can Be Your Key to Getting Back to Your Land to Stay

Ten Tips For Urban Homesteaders

An Easier Raised Bed Without the Digging

We're covering a lot in this issue. Read on for lots of great information!

The Importance of Self-Reliance

Coincidentally, the same thing happened to my husband when he was two, only the year was 1953. His parents were at a Jaycees picnic, and cute little Ricky kept picking up half-empty beer bottles and sipping the dregs. Then his mother noticed him laughing and giggling and falling down. Again, he slept it off and grew up into a responsible adult who seldom drinks. My husband still talks about it and laughs.

That was then. This is now.

Not long ago, I read a post from one of my online groups. A woman noticed a couple giving their child sips from their alcoholic drinks. She was concerned and asked our group what she should have done. And before we go any further in this article, I want you to know one important thing:

I do not condone giving alcohol to children. I’m not big on giving alcohol to anyone.

Enough said. But what I learned next disturbed me even more than the fact that these not-so-bright people were giving Junior sips of their Bud Light. In our group, countless people wrote in and urged this woman to call social services and report this couple, which makes me wonder when we went from a nation of plucky individualists to those eager to report to Uncle Sam the slightest infraction.

No parenting manual arrived with my own children, and there were a lot of things I had to figure out on my own. Granted, I knew that giving alcohol to a child wasn’t smart, but I’ve been a nutrition nut for years. I also think giving soda pop to a small child is equally monstrous. The point I’m making is this: couldn’t someone have simply explained to this couple about the dangers of giving a child alcohol? Must we run to the government for this?

Somewhere along the line, we lost the ability to think for ourselves. We have stopped taking responsibility for our own health – it is up to the doctors to make us well and not ourselves. We no longer concern ourselves about the time when we will no longer be able to work – that’s what Social Security is for. We don’t help those in need – let Welfare take care of it. And while we have been sleeping and growing ever more dependent on outside sources for our very survival, our government has grown bigger, slower and more inept.

Self reliance has never been more crucial to our lives than it is today.

So why should we be self reliant? So that we can stand and fight for our freedoms. So that we can teach our children to think for themselves, and so that we can protect the most precious thing the world has ever known: a nation that was once of the people, by the people and for the people, and that needs to become that way again.

Here’s to the self-reliant lifestyle!

What's New

Are you overwhelmed with all the things you have to get done? Homesteaders usually have a lot on their plates, including caring for animals, gardening, repairs and that annoying nine-to-five job. Here are eight ways you can get more done in less time..

There's an urban chicken movement afoot in this country. If you want to bring chickens into your residential backyard, here are ten tips to make that transition smoother for you and your small flock.

What if it's against the law to have chickens in your town? Follow these steps to get a chicken ordinance passed in your community.

An internet business - using modern technology for old fashioned self-reliance. An internet business can be your key to getting back on your land to stay. Learn how you can earn an income from your computer.

With urban homesteading, you don't need a big patch of land to be self reliant, just a heart for homesteading. Here are ten tipsfor those wishing to live the self reliant life in the concrete jungle.

Want an easier raised bed that provides a rich soil for your organic garden without the digging? Try this wonderful method.

And until next time, happy homesteading!