Analyst Alleges Plan to Declare US Government Illegitimate After Midterms

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The Ready Brief #238

Practical preparedness for uncertain times

Today's issue is about preparing in an apartment: no garage, no basement, no yard, and often a lease that limits what you can store or do. The core needs still fit. Water, food, power, documents and a way out take less room than most people expect. The lead story is a set of online posts alleging a plan to contest federal authority after the midterms, and on the radar is an Oregon school shooting stopped by an armed father.

Apartment Prepping: Making It Work With Limited Space

Most preparedness advice assumes a house with a garage, a yard and a basement. If you rent an apartment, that advice can feel out of reach. Most of the essentials still fit. They just need different priorities and creative use of the space you have.

Start with water, the biggest storage challenge in a small space. The American Red Cross recommends one gallon per person per day, and a two-week supply at home. For one person that is 14 gallons: too much for a 55-gallon drum, but it fits in a closet. Seven one-gallon jugs under a bed cover a week. Stackable 3.5-gallon WaterBrick containers, each 9 by 18 inches and 6 inches high, fit on closet shelves, and four hold 14 gallons. A filter such as the Sawyer Squeeze lets you treat water from another source if your supply runs out.

Food storage in an apartment means going vertical and staying hidden. Flat bins under the bed hold rice, pasta, canned goods and dried beans. Over-door organizers on pantry or closet doors add shelf space without using floor area, and the back of every closet is usable. Storage ottomans and benches work as both furniture and a food cache. Buy foods you already eat, and rotate them.

Power backup scales down. A small portable power station, in the range of a few hundred watt-hours, can keep phones and a laptop charged and run LED lights during an outage. Check the capacity on the label before you buy, and charge it from a wall outlet. A folding solar panel stores flat in a closet if you want to recharge without the grid.

Cooking is the place to be careful. Camp stoves and charcoal grills produce carbon monoxide and are made for outdoor use, and many leases ban open flames on balconies. Check your lease first, and stock foods that need no cooking. A battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm is a better purchase than a stove.

Security has different limits. You usually can't change the door frame or the exterior, so look for options that don't damage the unit, such as a portable door alarm or a door brace that sits against the floor, and ask your landlord before you drill. On upper floors, learn the building's stairwells and exits before you need them.

A go-bag is easier to keep ready in an apartment because the exit is close. Keep it by the front door or in the entry closet, with copies of important documents, medications, cash and a change of clothes.

Plan for the likeliest events: a multi-day power or water outage, a building fire alarm, a boil-water notice. A short disruption with partial services is far more likely than a long collapse, and the water, food and go-bag above cover it.

Community matters more in an apartment building. You share walls, utilities and exits with your neighbors. Knowing who lives around you, exchanging numbers and agreeing on a way to check on each other builds a support network that single-family homes don't have by default.

Limited space is a reason to choose carefully, not a reason to skip preparing. Measure the spaces you have, then fill them with the items that matter most.

Identify three unused storage spaces in your apartment.

Look under beds, behind closet doors, on high shelves and inside furniture. Measure each space. These are your emergency supply locations. Even small spaces add up to meaningful storage when you use them on purpose.

Bend School Shooting: Armed Father Stopped the Gunman, and the Data on Armed Civilians

Kaylub Giamanco, 36, a Bend, Oregon carpenter, told OPB he saw an armed person approach Silver Rail Elementary on Oct. 15, took a handgun from his truck's center console and went in. Police credit him and an unarmed teacher with saving lives; three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher died in the attack. The Crime Prevention Research Center, a nonprofit, counted 561 active shootings from 2014 to 2024 and says concealed carry holders stopped 202, or 36%. The FBI's database only lists 374 incidents, 14 stopped by armed citizens, or 3.7%. Next check: the FBI's next annual active shooter report (no date announced).

Source: OPB, KPTV via KTTC, The Washington Times

Jonathan Hollerman wrote Survival Theory: A Preparedness Guide (EMP), a 266-page paperback that lists for $14.99 on Amazon. The publisher description says the book argues that a long grid-down event could bring widespread desperation, and it focuses on planning where to take your family, including bug-out bags and retreat locations.

Our takeaway, not a claim from the book: if your plan may involve leaving, an apartment helps, because your exit is close and your go-bag is small.

Analyst Alleges Plan to Declare US Government Illegitimate After Midterms

On Oct. 19 and 20, an analyst who posts on X as DataRepublican released a series called "The Democracy Files." The posts say recordings and documents show former USAID officials, retired military and national security figures, and activist groups planning for a legitimacy fight after the midterms, including "redlines," such as use of the Insurrection Act against protesters, after which the federal government should be declared illegitimate. RVM News, which reported the series, found no response from those named and no independent verification. Separately, the Washington Post reported Oct. 20 that about 10 current and former national security officials advise state governments and lawmakers on possible federal interference in the midterms; the White House dismissed those concerns. Election Day is Nov. 3. Confirm your polling place on your state election website.

Source: RVM News, Dannielle Blumenthal, The Philadelphia Inquirer (Washington Post)

WaterBrick 3.5-Gallon Stackable Water Containers

WaterBrick sells its standard 3.5-gallon container in a 2-pack for $54.50, about $27 each. Each is 9 by 18 inches and 6 inches high, weighs about 27 pounds filled, and the maker says the HDPE container is BPA-free. Four hold 14 gallons, a two-week supply for one person at the Red Cross's one gallon a day. Per gallon they cost more than a large drum, but they fit where a drum can't.

Budget alternative: Clean food-grade bottles you already own ($0). Ready.gov says to wash them with dish soap, sanitize with 1 teaspoon of unscented household bleach per quart of water, fill them, and replace water that is not commercially bottled every six months.

Overrated: Thinking you need a house to be prepared. Water, food, documents, a go-bag and a plan all fit in an apartment.

Underrated: Vertical storage. Over-door organizers, wall shelves and under-bed bins add storage without using floor space.

Trail running as functional fitness. Why moving quickly over uneven terrain is a practical physical skill for preparedness.

How was today's issue? Tap one below. If you pick "Could be better," tell us what to fix.

PS: Before you buy anything for a small space, measure the three spots you plan to use. What fits is a shorter list than what you'd like to own.

THE READY BRIEF is published for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing here is professional legal, medical, financial, or tactical advice. Preparedness looks different for every household. Use your own judgment, consult qualified professionals when the stakes are high, and adapt what you read here to your actual situation.