Note from JWR:

Today is set aside in the United States to honor our military veterans. For those of you are are veterans, thank you. And for those of you that have family members, friends, neighbors, church brethren, and co-workers that are veterans, I encourage you to make the effort to express your thanks and to welcome them home. Please give tangible support to those that are currently serving on overseas tours, and keep them in your prayers. I highly recommend the Any Soldier letter writing and gift-giving program.




Letter Re: Comments on FAL Rifle Gas Regulation

Mr. Rawles: These sage comments on FN FAL gas adjustment from my friend and colleague, John Krupa, Director of Training for DSA [an American maker of FN FAL clone rifles. The following is re-posted with the permission of DSA]: “Not knowing that one can control gas-flow on this weapon has led to countless customer-service calls to DSA, complaining that the rifle ‘doesn’t work.’ The following is laid out in great detail in the Owners’s Manual, of course, but we are happy to explain to each owner how the gas-regulator works and then walk them through correct gas-regulator adjustment. Invariably, when …




Letter Re: Two Book Recommendations

Mr. Rawles, I have just finished “Hard Times” by Studs Terkel, an oral history of the Great Depression, and recommend it to SurvivalBlog readers. It is a fascinating chronicle, a series of narratives from people who lived through it from all walks of life, and it really communicates a sense of what desperate times can be like. Most Americans have forgotten this and little is taught in schools. For example, there are several narratives that dealt with a farmers uprising in Northwestern Iowa. Apparently a local judge was too quick to bang the foreclosure gavel and a mob had his …




Odds ‘n Sods:

A hat tip to L.W., who sent us this: Banks’ Balance Sheets Will Hit The Fan In January.    o o o Helicopter Ben Speaks: Fed Chairman Says Economy Likely to Slow    o o o Reader MGB suggested the Measuring Worth web site. They have some very informative inflation and purchasing power calculators.    o o o Eric S. suggested this Newsmax article: Credit Card Debt a $915 Billion Disaster-in-Waiting for Banks