Joel Skousen

For other persons with the surname Skousen, see Skousen (disambiguation).
Joel M. Skousen
Born (1946-09-22) September 22, 1946 (age 77)
San Diego, California
NationalityAmerican
EducationBrigham Young University
Occupation(s)Survivalist, Author, Consultant
Political partyConstitution
RelativesW. Cleon Skousen (Uncle)
Mark Skousen (Brother)
Royal Skousen (Brother)
Websitewww.joelskousen.com

Joel M. Skousen (/ˈskaʊzən/; born September 22, 1946) is an American author of books on survivalism and candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election for the Constitution Party.[1]

Biography

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Skousen, born in San Diego and raised in Oregon, served as a USMC fighter pilot during the Vietnam Era. During the 1980s Skousen was the chairman of the Conservative National Committee. He was also the executive editor of Conservative Digest.[2]

Skousen is the founder and chief editor of World Affairs Brief,[3] a weekly news-analysis service. Some of Skousen's views are controversial. He made the case that the Fall of Communism was, also as claimed by KGB defector Anatoliy Golitsyn, a "carefully crafted deception," meant to gain Western aid and technology transfers that would eventually end in a resurgence of the Russian threat. In his weekly briefings Skousen has also written extensively about the evidence of conspiracy by government to cover up its own involvement in numerous black operations such as the JFK assassination, the Oklahoma City bombing, TWA 800 and the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. He is particularly a harsh critic of what he calls the "phony war on terror" used to conjure up justification for continual foreign intervention and the diminution of American constitutional rights; he is also very critical of globalism, communism, and the U.S. interventionist foreign policy.[4]

Skousen has written several books. including Essential Principles for the Conservation of Liberty, Strategic Relocation – North American Guide to Safe Places, The Secure Home, Survival Home Manual: Architectural Design, Construction, and Remodeling Of Self-Sufficient Residences and Retreats, and How to Implement a High Security Shelter in the Home. He also published a booklet titled 10 Packs for Survival, which he has also posted to several websites.[5]

Skousen designs and consults on hardened retreat homes,[6] often including fallout shelters with HEPA air filtration systems. He has offered consultation in both North and Central America regarding architectural and retreat design.[7] In the book Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times by Richard G. Mitchell, Jr., (2001) Skousen was quoted: "'You never want to make a house look like an obvious fortress. Those who want in can always move up a bigger gun. There is no way you can design a home to withstand RPG (Rocket-propelled grenade) rockets and tanks. I design these homes so you virtually cannot tell inside or out that they are any different from a conventional home.'"[8]

Because of its low population density and diverse economy, Skousen[9] recommends the Intermountain West region of the United States, as a preferred region for relocation and setting up survival retreats.

In late 2007, Skousen gave his support to Ron Paul, rather than to fellow LDS church member Mitt Romney, in the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, in a widely circulated YouTube video clip.[10] After John McCain became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee in early 2008, Skousen also endorsed Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party.[11]

He announced his candidacy for President of the United States under the Constitution Party in 2024.[1] Skousen lost in the 2024 Constitution Party presidential primaries to Randall Terry an anti-abortion activist. Aside from the presidential nomination, much of the debate at the convention focused on an ultimately defeated amendment by Skousen to remove references to God from the party platform.[12]

Personal life

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Joel Skousen is the older brother of Mark Skousen and the younger brother of Royal Skousen. The three Skousen brothers are the nephews of conservative author and commentator W. Cleon Skousen.[2]

In March 2013, Skousen walked away with just slight injuries from the crash of his Glasair kit plane, in a forced rough field landing, following a fuel system failure.[13] The crash landing occurred near Spanish Fork, Utah, on the return leg of a cross country flight to Las Vegas.[14]

Skousen lives in Orem, Utah.[15]

Bibliography

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  • Skousen, Joel M. (1977). Survival Home Manual: Architectural Design, Construction, and Remodeling of Self-Sufficient Residences and Retreats. Hood River, Oregon: Survival Homes. OCLC 5716888.
  • Skousen, Joel M. (1984). Essential Principles for the Conservation of Liberty. Madison, Ohio: J.M. Skousen. p. 75. OCLC 14979507.
  • Skousen, Joel M. (1998). How to Implement a High Security Shelter in the Home. Orem, Utah: J.M. Skousen. OCLC 40694908.
  • Skousen, Joel M. (1999). The Secure Home (3rd ed.). American Fork, Utah: Swift Publishing. p. 682. ISBN 1568610556. OCLC 42930398.
  • Skousen, Joel M. (2010). Strategic Relocation – North American Guide to Safe Places (3rd ed.). Lehi, Utah: Swift Publishing. p. 346. ISBN 978-1568612621. OCLC 713394979.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Wigner, Richard (2024-03-30). "Three Candidates for the Constitution Party Presidential Nomination to Debate on April 6". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  2. ^ a b "Mark Skousen's Family and Famous Relatives".
  3. ^ "World Affairs Brief". worldaffairsbrief.com.
  4. ^ "Joel Skousen: "The globalists are setting us up for failure in World War 3"". 9 May 2017.
  5. ^ "captaindaves.com domain name is for sale. Inquire now". www.captaindaves.com.
  6. ^ "Skipping town". Forbes.
  7. ^ "About Joel Skousen". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
  8. ^ "Mitchell, Dancing at Armageddon, excerpt". press.uchicago.edu.
  9. ^ ""About Joel Skousen" at his web site". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
  10. ^ Joel Skousen - Ron Paul Versus Corporate Media on YouTube
  11. ^ World Affairs Brief, May 2, 2008.
  12. ^ "Constitution Party Convention".
  13. ^ "Pilot feels 'blessed' after surviving plane crash".
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-04-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ Pilot uninjured after losing power, landing in a field | Spanish Fork News | heraldextra.com Archived 2013-06-06 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2018-09-09.
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