Notes from JWR:

Today is celebrated as Resurrection Sunday. Christ is risen! — Today is the birthday of Dr. Walter E. Williams, a PhD. Economist and one of my heroes. He was born in 1936. — Today we present the last two entries for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military …




So You Want to Become a Prepper — Now What?, by Daniel A.

History has shown that empires, nations, societies, and individuals all pass, and that the events of our lives can be, and oftentimes are, very uncertain.  About a year ago, my wife and I read the novel One Second After by William Forstchen.  While this book is a fictional account of a catastrophic event and the resulting collapse of civilized society, it may depict a disturbingly accurate account of events that could occur in a real-life catastrophe in the near future.  Reading this book resulted in a complete shift in our mindset and caused us to re-evaluate our pursuit of the …




Pre-Trib Rapture Doctrine and Preparedness, by P.H.

In my conversations in person and online as well as select daily readings including SurvivalBlog; it seems to me that there are a few very common themed roadblocks that people throw out as reasons why they can’t or don’t need to prepare or are unable to take their prepping to the next level. The four that come to mind are: 1)      My spouse doesn’t buy into the need to prepare 2)      We can’t afford to move 3)      God is in control; He will take care of us. 4)      Your prepping is actually a sign of a …




Two Letters Re: Things to Understand When Interacting With the Police

Dear Editor: In response to R.B. and his comments on “Things to Understand When Interacting With the Police,” I’d like to share “Some Things He Needs to Understand When Interacting With Civilians.” We’ve long abandoned the idea that the police are interested in helping us when they interact with us. We expect, for good reason, that any encounter with a police officer is going to be a reminder that right or wrong, he or she is a cop, they must be respected no matter how inhumane their behavior, and that any error on the part of the officer is inconsequential. …




Economics and Investing:

Necultchurny! The haircut news from Cyprus just got worse: “This morning Sky [News] reported that the levy on balances over €100,000 had now increased to 60%…” This now qualifies as full scale bank robbery. Ricky L. sent a link with some disturbing news: Fake 90% Silver U.S. Coins. Silver dollars are most often faked, but even smaller dominations should now be scrutinized. Bill Whittle: Canaries in Coal Mines You Will NEVER Look At MONEY The Same AGAIN. Items from The Economatrix: No Matter Outcome, Cyprus Crisis Is Blow To Business (And To Bank Customer Confidence Worldwide) International Monetary Fund (IMF) …




Odds ‘n Sods:

Joe K. suggested: Emergency Preparedness & Outdoor Adventure Planning Checklist o o o Americans Are Migrating To More Free Republican States. It is noteworthy that the study (see summary here) would have ranked Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana higher, except that “freedom” as they define it includes so-called “same sex marriage” and the freedom to use marijuana. This skewed their results. o o o F.G. suggested this vintage video that explains vacuum tube technology: AT&T Archives: Bottle of Magic o o o Ten Reasons Why Senators Should Vote Against the Gun Control Bribe-o-thon o o o Reader D.D. sen this link …




Jim’s Quote of the Day:

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the [same] night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it], in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, …




Notes from JWR:

You’ve probably already seen this: 40+ Officers & ATF Agents Raid Home of Youtube Gun Personality FPSRussia. So the “explosives experts” at the BATFE are ignorant about Tannerite exploding targets? Take a look at the FPS Russia videos with explosions. All that I’ve ever seen are explosions producing sandy-brown smoke, which is indicative of a Tannerite binary low explosive, (ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder-based), and/or orange flames from gasoline, both of which are perfectly legal under Federal law, and ditto in most of the 50 States. That includes the state of Georgia, where Myers lives. There was also an implication …




Preparedness for Short Term Regional Disasters, by K.H.H.

I know this blog is primarily aimed at folks preparing for a long-term crisis, but I have a unique perspective on living without electricity after a regional disaster that I thought some might find informative. I live in the hills of northwestern New Jersey, and I have lived through three sustained (my definition: 4 or more days each) power outages caused by extreme weather events during the last two years. These power outages were caused, respectively, by Hurricane Irene, 19 inches of wet, heavy snow in October before the trees had lost their leaves, and Hurricane Sandy. I have learned …




Letter Re: Things to Understand When Interacting With Police

James, In my opinion 99.9% of preppers are law-abiding citizens who fear God and want nothing more than to be left alone to live their lives in peace and prosperity. Having said that I take extreme exception to the recent article entitled, “Things to Understand When Interacting With Police”, by G.S. from Florida. G.S. is a defense attorney who used to be a prosecuting attorney. Let me introduce myself as much as I can. I am a prepper and a police detective in a Western state and have arrested many criminals over the years. I have been in many jury …




Economics and Investing:

Say Goodbye to the Purchasing Power of the Dollar — Mr. Bernanke goes to Crazytown Reader L.C.A. sent a link to some alarming charts on food an oil prices. Following the global credit collapse of 2008, inflation has returned with a vengeance. Peter Schiff explains how a US depression can cause a global ‘death spiral’ Too big to fail or ignore: How the US went from over 13,000 banks in 1987 to 6,000 today. $7.4 trillion in deposits backed by $32 billion dollars. (It is high time that we pull our money out of this high stakes casino. Build up …




Odds ‘n Sods:

Dear Respected Comrade, Supreme Leader, Great Successor, First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, First Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army, Kim-Il Sung Jr., Jr. seems to have gone full-on Col. Jack D. Ripper “Sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids ” bonkers. There has been news of North Korea targeting Guam, Anchorage, and perhaps even Oahu or Seattle with their handful of low-yield nukes–which are probably not yet compatible with their missiles. (And their missiles most likely still …




Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take [any] person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.”  Ezekiel 33:6-7 (KJV)




Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a …




A Fruit and Nut Tree Primer by Jujubee

I am seeing fruit and nut trees for sale now in the Southeast where I live so I wanted to share some thoughts on how I approach tree cultivation. I usually try to plant trees earlier in the winter in order for the roots to get a good start but retail outlets know that people start getting restless towards the end of winter and want to get their gardens and orchards going and they are only too happy to accommodate them. I am an arborist by trade and I’ve provided some guidelines I follow in raising trees. It is not …