The American Redoubt — Move to the Mountain States

(Note: This essay launched The American Redoubt movement. It was first posted on March 28, 2011. It was last updated on March 30, 2018)

To begin, I recognize the fact that “all politics are local”. I also recognize the international readership of So, not only are Federal Reserve Notes not redeemable “on demand” for specie, but effectively they are now no longer “…legal tender for all debts public and private.” It is often hard to pinpoint a breaking point–the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back”–as impetus for a paradigm shift. But reading that news article was that last straw for me.

Consider my paradigm fully shifted. I’m now urging that folks Get Out of Dodge for political reasons–not just for the family preparedness issues that I’ve previously documented. There comes a time, after a chain of abuses when good men must take action. We’ve reached that point, folks!

Voting With Our Feet

I concur that . Like Chuck Baldwin I believe that is time for freedom-loving Christians to relocate to something analogous to on a grand scale.

In March 2011, Ol’ Remus of the weekly  blog quoted an essay by economist Giordano Bruno, titled . In it, Bruno stated: “If there is anything good to come out of our present predicament, it is that Americans, from average citizens to elected officials, are beginning to understand the reality of coming collapse and are preempting it with measures designed to insulate their communities from the inevitable firestorm. Eventually, as this movement escalates, certain states will come out ahead of the pack, gaining a kind of “safe haven” status, and attracting liberty minded people from around the country to the protective shelter of their borders.”

Some Experts

Sociologist Albert O. Hirschman in his book , identifies the growing libertarian trend of “Exit” strategies, all the way from the individual level up to the level of nation states.

Giordano Bruno identified a trend that has been developing informally for many years: A conscious retrenchment into safe haven states. I strongly recommend this amalgamation, and that it be formalized. I’m calling it The American Redoubt. I further recommend Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington for the réduit.

Some might call it a conglomeration, but I like to call it an amalgamation, since that evokes silver. And it will be a Biblically sound and Constitutionally sound silver local currency that will give it unity.

redoubt

(For re-use of this image, see the copyright notice, below.)

I anticipate that this nascent movement, and the gulch itself will be a lot bigger than most other pundits anticipate. It could very well be a multi-state amalgamation like The American Redoubt, that I’ve advocated.

Why Exclude Some Adjoining States?

I’m sure that I’ll get e-mail from folks, suggesting expanding the Redoubt concept to include Utah, the Dakotas, and Colorado. Let me preemptively state the following: Utah is a conservative state, but its desert climate makes it unsuitable to feed its current population, much less one swelled by in-migration. North and South Dakota have some promise, but I have my doubts about how defendable they would be if ever came down to fight. Plains and steppes are tanker country. It is no coincidence that the armies of the world usually choose plains for their maneuver areas, for large scale war games.

Why Include Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington?

Next, some might argue that I shouldn’t have included eastern Oregon and eastern Washington. The population densities are suitably low, and the populace is overwhelmingly conservative. But the folks there are still at mercy of the more populous regions west of the Cascades. That is who dictate their state politics. However, who is to say that their eastern counties won’t someday partition to form new states, like West Virginia? This same factor is just as pronounced in rural Colorado. Just a few large cities call the political shots, and they have been overwhelmed by ex-Californians. For this reason I reluctantly took Colorado off the list.

Take a few minutes to look at . As you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 can see, a lot of that is in The American Redoubt.

To Clarify: Religious, Not Racial Lines

I’m sure that this brief essay will generate plenty of hate mail, and people will brand me as a religious separatist. So be it. I am a separatist, but on religious lines, not racial ones. I have made it abundantly clear throughout the course of my writings that I am an anti-racist. Christians of all races are welcome to be my neighbors. I also welcome Orthodox Jews and Messianic Jews, because we share the same moral framework.

In calamitous times, with a few exceptions, it will only be the God fearing that will continue to be law abiding. Choose you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r locale wisely. I can also forthrightly state that I have more in common with Orthodox Jews and Messianic Jews than I do with atheist Libertarians. I’m a white guy. But I have much more in common with black Baptists or Chinese Lutherans than I do with white Buddhists or white New Age crystal channelers.

Emulating Switzerland, Not Germany

I also expect that my use of the term Redoubt will inspire someone to accuse me of some sort of neo-Nazism. Sorry, but I use the term in honor of Switzerland. When I chose the name I was thinking of the Schweizer Alpenfestung (aka Réduit Suisse), rather than any reference to the Nazi’s “National Redoubt” scheme at the end of World War II. I am strongly anti-totalitarian, and that includes all of its forms, including Nazism and Communism.

I’m inviting people with the same outlook to move to the Redoubt States, to effect a demographic solidification. We’re already a majority here. I’d just like to see an even stronger majority.

One important point: I do not, nor have I ever advocated asking anyone already living here to leave, nor would I deny anyone’s right to move here, regardless of their faith, (or lack thereof).

Cloistering: Old School is New School

Closing ranks with people of the same faith has been done for centuries. It is often called cloistering. While imperfect, cloistering got some Catholics in Ireland through the Dark Ages with both their skins intact and some precious manuscripts intact. (It is noteworthy that other copies of the same manuscripts were burned, elsewhere in Europe.) Designating some States as a Redoubt is nothing more than a logical defensive reaction to an approaching threat.

Are You With Us?

Most of all, you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 should read my Precepts page. If you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 aren’t in agreement with most of those precepts, then I don’t recommend that you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 relocate to the Redoubt–you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 probably won’t fit in.

Your Checklist

I suggest that you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 follow these guidelines, as you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 prepare and then move to the American Redoubt:

Prioritize

  • Research geography, climate, and micro-climates very carefully.
  • Bring you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r guns.
  • Sell you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r sports car and buy a reliable crew cab pickup.
  • Keep the practical items but sell you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r junk and impractical items at a garage sale.
  • After you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势’ve set aside cash for you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r land, convert the rest of you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r Dollar-denominated wealth into practical tangibles.
  • Develop a 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势-based business.

Lighten The Load

  • Sell you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r television.
  • Sell you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r jewelry and fancy wristwatch. Buy a Stihl chainsaw instead.
  • Switch to a practical wardrobe and “sensible shoes”.
  • Sell you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r bric-a-brac and collectibles. What is more important? A large collection of Hummel figurines, or having a lot of good hand tools and Mason jars?
  • Donate any older bulky furniture to the local charity store before you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 move.

Prepare Your Mind

  • Leave you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r Big City expectations behind. There probably won’t be cell phone coverage, high speed Internet, or Pilates.
  • Expect a long driving distances for work and shopping.
  • Begin 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势schooling you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r children.
  • Encourage you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r kids to XBox and Wii less and read more.

Strengthen Your Faith

  • Choose you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r new church 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 wisely, seeking sound doctrine, not “programs.”
  • Expect persecution and hardship. You will be despised for being true to you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r faith. (Just read . and , and .)

Buy That Land

  • Buy land that will maximize you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r self-sufficiency.
  • Make a clean break by selling you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r house and any rental properties. You aren’t coming back.
  • If you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 buy an existing house, get one with an extra bedroom or two. Some relatives may be joining you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势, unexpectedly.

Then, after you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 move, consider:

Privacy

  • Be active, politically, but use a pseudonym in letters to the editor an internet posts.
  • Use VPN tunneling, RSA encryption, firewalls, and anonymous remailers.
  • Conduct as much business as possible via barter or with precious metals rather than credit cards.
  • Choose you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r fights wisely. Don’t tilt at windmills, but when you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 feel convicted, don’t back down.

Community

  • Respect the property rights and the traditions of you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r neighbors.
  • Don’t try to change things to be like the suburb that you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 left behind. You are escaping all that!
  • Pitch in by joining the local Volunteer Fire Department (VFD), Ski Patrol, Sheriff’s Posse, or EMT team.
  • Be a good neighbor.
  • Do you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r banking locally, preferably with a credit union and/or a farm credit union.
  • Encourage like-minded family and friends to join you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势.

Education

  • Be active in local 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 school co-ops and service organizations.
  • Gradually acquire a 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 library that includes self-sufficiency books and classic books–history, biographies, and novels.
  • Join the local ham radio club. (Affiliated with the ARRL.)

Stocking Up

  • Build a Deep Pantry of storage foods for lengthy power failures, or worse.
  • Patronize the local farmer’s market and craft shows.
  • Support local businesses, and companies that are headquartered inside the Redoubt, not Wal-Mart.
  • Attend gun shows in you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r state. (This keeps money circulating in the state and keeps you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 legal, for private gun purchases.)
  • Find and visit you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r local second-hand stores. Watch for useful, practical items that don’t need electricity.
  • Get accustomed to eating venison, elk, moose, antelope, trout, and salmon.
  • Visit some farm auctions in you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r region to gather a good collection of useful hand tools and a treadle sewing machine.

Faith

In conclusion, I am hopeful that it is in God’s providential will to extend his covenantal blessings to the American Redoubt. And even if God has withdrawn his blessings from our nation as a whole, he will continue to provide for and to protect His remnant. Pray and meditate on , daily!

 

Addenda (April, 2011): 33 Ways to Encourage Atlas to Shrug

Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel “” is enjoying renewed popularity following the release of the new movie. Rand’s story describes a group of American industrialists that lose patience with onerous regulation and taxation. They decide to “shrug”–to disappear from their normal lives and secretly relocate to a hidden valley called . While this tale is fictional, it has some strong parallels to modern-day America. Granted,  But she was a good judge of both character and the inevitable tendencies of elected governments.

Rand’s Prescience

I was born in 1960. I shudder when I consider the regulatory and tax burdens that have been added in my lifetime. Ayn Rand had amazing prescience in predicting those changes. It is most noteworthy  that we no longer live in a free market capitalist nation. At best, it could called a “mixed” economy with statist tendencies, and verging on socialism.

To continue, reading the news headlines in recent months has led me to believe that the Galt’s Gulch concept has a lot of merit. If The Powers That Be wanted to encourage the Atlases of the world to shrug, they couldn’t have done a better job. So, what is the best way to get the most productive Citizens of our nation to go on strike? How to make us  retreat to “gulches”? Consider the following “to do” lists for those whom Ayn Rand called “The Destroyers”:

Spend Liberally

  1. Continue to increase the size of the government (and its debts).
  2. Provide .

Increase Old Taxes

  1. Remove the 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势owner’s mortgage interest tax deduction. .
  2. Raise import tariffs. Didn’t they ever hear Ben Stein’s ? (OBTW, .)
  3. Increase taxes for unemployment-insurance funds.
  4. Increase the tax paperwork burden by requiring “1099-MISC” reporting of all cash transactions over $600.
  5. Raise sales taxes.
  6. Increase property taxes, even if 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 values decline. .
  7. Increase license, permit, and vehicle registration fees. Meanwhile, institute “temporary” tax increases. These surtaxes on income, sales, or real property are
  8. Inflate the currency to rob those who save money–a hidden form of taxation.

Invent New Taxes

  1. Create a European-style Value Added Tax (VAT). .
  2. Nationalize IRAs and 401(k)s. .
  3. Mandate payment of state sales taxes on out-of-state purchases for Internet and mail orders. , and for .

Regulate Everything

  1. Drag out approval of new mining operations with endless Environmental Impact studies. .
  2. Drag out approval of newly-developed medicines.
  3. Make it .
  4. Increase the cost of doing business through mandatory insurance. (The “labor burden” for an employee with a nominal salary of $17 per hour ($35,360 gross, annually) is .) , in particular, is getting painfully expensive.
  5. Over-regulate small firms out of business. are a prime example.
  6. Implement carbon taxes and credits.
  7. Remove the salary cap on Social Security tax “contributions”. .

Punish Everyone

  1. Fine farmers and ranchers for .
  2. that actually work just as they were designed. (At least , in 2005.)
  3. Reinstate the Federal estate tax and pre-Bush Administration income tax levels. Oh, and . Is this wishful thinking (to make the increases in the Federal debt not look quite so bad), or a fait accompli?
  4. Push up the rates for “sin” taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and other items.
  5. .

Burden Business Owners

  1. Lobby for mandating that companies pay for for all employees.
  2. Legislate expansion of company-paid health insurance to cover pre-existing conditions and everything from and to .
  3. Institute dozens of from the Federal level, that must be compensated for with higher state, county, and local taxes.
  4. Increase the Minimum Wage. , but even worse yet,
  5. Push for increased mandatory employer-paid benefits for company employees like and . Also, unless they have expanded health care coverage.

Socially Engineer Us

  1. Create a pervasive . For example: penalize companies and consumers for , and alcoholic beverages that .
  2. Encourage where huge lawsuits are filed over trifles, and where the makers of products can be sued .
  3. Use taxpayer funds to that are in running condition, while subsidizing .
  4. And lastly, the big one: . Despite a strong public outcry, this is now Federal law. But thankfully there is .

In response, the shrugging and gulching has already begun:

  • Because many states define “small business” as a company with less than 50 employees, some business owners have , to avoid onerous costs.
  • Companies and individuals are now consciously .
  • Wyoming has neither a personal income taxes nor corporate income taxes, so , or at least .
  • Millions of Americans are and some have even , in part to avoid high taxation. (It’s not just buying property offshore.)
  • recently mentioned selling his business and parking the proceeds in gold and silver. He stated: “I’m just not ready to have my wealth redistributed. I’m not ready to pay more tax money than the next guy because I provide jobs and because I work a 60-hour week and I earn more than $250,000 a year.”
  • One recent headline: .
  • became so exasperated by over-regulation that he declared: “I’m quitting.”

In conclusion, many folks are now ready to vote with their feet. Atlas is starting to shrug.

Addenda (May, 2011, with several updates between 2012 and 2017):

Finding a Prepper-Friendly Church

First of all, many SurvivalBlog readers are Christians. For us, the search for a desirable “vote with you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r feet” relocation locale includes a very important criteria: finding a good church 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势. I am of the opinion that finding a good church 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 is our Christian duty, and that it honors God.

Furthermore, it is also an important factor in finding acceptance in a new community. By joining a church congregation that shares you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r world view, you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 can very quickly become part of a community, rather than being perceived as just “that new guy”. Therfore, in many locales this shortens the time required for a high level of acceptance and inclusion as a part of “the we”, by years.

Why Reformed?

In my experience in the western United States, Reformed churches tend to have a very high percentage of families that are both preppers and 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势schoolers.

It is most noteworthy that when I put forth my American Redoubt plan, a key aspect was that it would be primarily geared toward fellow Christians, Messianic Jews, and conservative Jews.

My Criteria

Here are lists of my own criteria, for you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 to consider. (Note: I come from a Reformed Baptist background, so you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r criteria may differ):

Looking Upward

  • An edifying church that gives glory to God. (Most noteworthy.)
  • Reliance upon and belief in the literal truth of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament as the Inspired Word of God.
  • Sound doctrine, with Christ as the cornerstone, and preferably in accord with the and the . (Or at least four of them. This is especially relevant.)
  • A strong emphasis on the Gospel of Christ.
  • Expository preaching. (A systematic exposition of scripture.)
  • An emphasis on teaching and memorizing God’s word with exhortation rather than “programs”.

Looking Outward

  • Biblical evangelism–the pastor, elders, and congregation all take The Great Commission literally. (Avoid churches with any racism or anti-Semitism.)
  • A commitment to Christian Charity.
  • An “…in the World but not of the World” outlook.

Looking 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势ward

  • A congregation where a substantial portion of the body 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 schools their children. (Not a necessity, but a nice plus.)
  • Some interest in family preparedness. (Not a necessity, but a nice plus.)
  • Congregants that focus on their 500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 life rather than their social life.
  • Congregants with a conservative outlook, modest dress, humble attitudes, and avoidance of worldly trappings.

 

Addenda: Reformed Churches in The American Redoubt States

My initial list had just 25 churches that I’ve either visited or that have been recommended to me.  This list has gradually grown to almost 50 churches.

Southern Idaho

  • , Meridian
  • , Meridian
  • , Boise
  • , Boise
  • , Boise
  • , Nampa
  • , Twin Falls
  • , Idaho Falls

Central Idaho

  • , Lewiston
  • , Pierce
  • , Grangeville
  • , Moscow

Northern Idaho

  • , Post Falls
  • , Coeur d’Alene
  • , Sagle
  • , Bonners Ferry

Northwest Montana

  • , Kalispell (Pastor Chuck Baldwin .)
  • , Missoula
  • , Sidney
  • , Troy
  • , Wolf Creek
  • , Yaak

Elsewhere in Montana

  • , Billings
  • , Bozeman
  • , Bozeman
  • , Choteau
  • , Dillon
  • , Great Falls

Eastern Oregon

  • , Bend
  • , La Pine
  • , La Grande
  • , Pendleton

Eastern Washington

  • , Clarkston
  • , Pullman
  • (OPC), Colville
  • , Northport
  • , Spokane
  • , Spokane
  • (PCA), Walla Walla

Wyoming

  • , Laramie
  • Casper
  • , Powell
  • (PCA), Lander
  • , Rock Springs

Orthodox Jewish Synagogues and Congregations in The American Redoubt States:

Try to find a truly conservative congregation. The word “conservative” (shamrani) has different meanings to different Jewish people! (Political conservatism is not always synonymous with religious conservatism and a traditional moral code.)

SurvivalBlog reader Yorrie in Pennsylvania sent some notes via e-mail. He recommended:

“…Torah knowledgeable and observant = Orthodox religiously or similar. Which usually overlaps with conservative politically. The more traditional end of the Conservative Jewish movement did not accept the liberal swing [that began in the 1950s] and is called Traditional, Conservadox (Halfway between Conservative and Orthodox), or sometimes Masorti (Hebrew for Traditional).

There are Orthodox and Traditional Jews in Flathead County, Montana, and more formal congregations of the (a Torah Judaism movement with roots over 300 or more appropriately over 3,000 years).

Chabad congregations in the Redoubt area are in Bozeman, Montana [], Jackson, Wyoming, [] and elsewhere in most major cities around the world.”


Messianic Jewish Congregations in The American Redoubt States:

Many of these congregations tend to be small “500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 churches”. So make inquiries, locally.

Here is just one example of what you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 will find. It is in eastern Washington:


13506 E. Broadway Ave
Spokane Valley , Washington 99216
509-465-9523 (Phone) / 509-465-0451 (FAX)

Conclusion:

Due to the controversial nature of any discussion of religion, I’m sure that this will  inspire a lot of correspondence. I don’t have plans to create a nationwide directory of prepper-friendly churches and congregations. (That would go beyond the scope of my project.) But I would appreciate you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势r feedback on any of the churches and congregations listed.

Also, I would also appreciate recommendations on specific Jewish and Messianic Jewish congregations inside of the Redoubt region.

 

Addenda (June, 2011):

The Yellowstone “Super Volcano”

I’m often asked by readers about the . There have been plenty of sensationalist news reports that have . More realistically, volcanologists tell us: . And, also the “rapid uplift” that was widely reported in 2004 in 2005 has .

Because of the prevailing winds, the anticipated volcanic ash fall is probably more of threat to eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming, the Dakotas and the Plains states than it its to anywhere west of Yellowstone. If you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 consider it a threat in the next few generations, then simply buy property that is at least 100 miles UPWIND of Yellowstone. If there ever is an eruption, anyone in northern Idaho or Northwestern Montana will only get ash fall that first circles the globe. It it will be people the Plains states that would get .

The Nuclear Bonus

Next as a bonus, locating UPWIND of Yellowstone will also put you500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 upwind of (which BTW is a locale in the second sequel to my novel ““) has dozens of strategic nuclear targets. If we are ever engaged in , each silo could be targeted for a nuclear ground burst. (It is ground bursts rather than air bursts that create significant fallout.) Again, I wouldn’t want to live downwind.

Also, as a further bonus, the climate is also much more livable west of the Great Divide. East of the Great Divide, the winters can be bitterly cold, but .

Finally, also consider: . Note that the preponderance of the nation’s geothermal potential is in the Rocky Mountain States and the Intermountain West. The Redoubt just keeps looking better…

About the Author

James Wesley, Rawles is a former U.S. Army Intelligence officer and a noted author and lecturer on survival and preparedness topics. He is the author of the best-selling nonfiction book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. He also wrote the novel “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse” He is also the editor of –the popular daily web journal for prepared individuals living in uncertain times.

500彩票幸运快三怎么看走势 2011-2017. All Rights Reserved by James Wesley, Rawles – ™

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