Month: April 2009

Letter Re: The Mexican Drug Wars Come to the United States

Jim, As the economy gets worse, crime of this sort will only increase. Small towns that have secondary and tertiary highways are not immune. Often these secondary routes parallel the primary highways that have the heaviest enforcement which leads the traffickers to use the secondary routes to evade Law Enforcement. We have had first hand experience with interstate drug traffickers in our Midwestern town of 1,300 people that has a parallel secondary highway running through it. I shudder to think what will happen to our borders, cities, and towns when bankrupt states and cities are forced to confront the stark …


Letter Re: Why Survivalists Should Buy Local Organic Food

Jim ~ We subscribe to an organic grocery delivery service and have the food dehydrator running non-stop around the clock now that local produce is coming in. Our preference is dried over frozen because of smells and off flavors that frozen can pick up. Even through I pay a premium for organic foods, my feeling is that if inflation or hyperinflation is around the corner, the price I’m paying now will at the least even out in the face of inflation, and I’ll still have a superior product. I know that the food we are preserving is top quality, not …


Economics and Investing:

Charley keyed in on a piece in The Atlantic, where Jeffrey Goldberg contemplates survivalism: Why I Fired My Broker. The accompanying video clip, titled “The Con Game” is quite entertaining and has some snippets about his acquaintance Cody Lundin–a survivalist and author.(Cody is the author of When All H*ll Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes — currently around #300 in the Amazon ranks.) Here is a quote from the print article: “For the record, I don’t think the grid is buckling under the weight of consumer debt or the mistakes of AIG. But we’re in a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Hawaiian K. sent us the link to a video clip showing the Mexican Back-Country Improvised Method of Tire Bead Sealing. Don’t try this at home! (This method can leave un-burned explosive gasses inside your tire, not to mention remove your eyebrows in a flash, even if you try to be careful!)   o o o From Cheryl (aka The Economatrix) Guns: A Better Buy Than Stock    o o o Writing in The Washington Times, Ollie North asks: Who are dangerous ‘extremists’? (Thanks to KAF for the link.)    o o o Our Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent …



Notes from JWR:

If you have any favorite quotes that relate to survival, preparedness, faith, patriotism, Constitutional rights, or perhaps something on economics, then please e-mail it to me, and I’ll likely post them as Quotes of the Day. Thanks! — The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction. is now at $650. This auction is for a large mixed lot, which includes: 1.) A Three-Color Desert Camo Interceptor OTV (Outer Tactical Vest) size XL only, and a spare Woodland camouflage outer shell, kindly donated by BulletProofME.com. These items have a combined retail value of $960! 2.) A vehicle detection system, which includes: …


Letter Re: Tidal Waves of Urban Refugees

Jim, I was stationed on the DMZ in Korea with the 2nd Infantry Division. One of the big concerns the US army has is all of the millions of refugees that will be on the roads going south, if the North Koreans were to invade. We would be moving heavy equipment, and needing to move it fast, and the roads would be very congested. The US and the ROK army now have an agreement, that the ROK army would be responsible for clearing the roads, and believe me, they will. The US does not want to be responsible because, without …


Letter Re: Why Survivalists Should Buy Local Organic Food

Mr. Rawles–please accept my apologies for replying so delinquently. I just found your “blog” and have to say it is quite good. Thanks for all your work. Though I will admit to being an organic gardener for 20 odd years now I would like to reply to a few things L.D.M. said against organic gardening and in “praise” of commercial/chemical agriculture. My reply is from a “survivalist” perspective. First..yes, American[-origin] natural gas is the basis for fertilizer not Middle Eastern oil. However…in a catastrophe of any type when you can’t get food how exactly are you planning on getting Inorganic …


Economics and Investing:

D.S. flagged this:Why There will be no other Bubble to Save us from this 40 Year Financial Bubble: From Manufacturing, Technology, and Financial Services. Real Estate Bubble. Drop in Corporate Tax Receipts D.S. also recommended an Op-Ed piece by Paul Krugman in The New York Times: Green Shoots and Glimmers Kern County, California unemployment jumps to 15.9 percent. (Thanks to JWP for the link.) Krys in Idaho sent us this article. US regulators close American Sterling Bank. Krys’s comment: “In case anyone’s counting, that’s an average of almost 1.5 banks closed every week so far this year. It is only …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Warning: Don’t exhale, folks! The new and improved Obama-era EPA has declared carbon dioxide a “greenhouse gas”. Next, I suppose they’ll declare dihydrogen monoxide “a powerful unregulated universal chemical solvent.”    o o o Reader KAF flagged this: A cure for [honeybee] colony collapse–New research has proposed both a concrete cause for bee colony collapse disorder, as well as a cure    o o o KAF also sent a link to the latest commentary by political pundit Victor Davis Hanson: President of the World–The globe is hearing a deeply pessimistic view of what America was and is.



Notes from JWR:

Wow! We are approaching eight million unique visits. Not bad for “an obscure niche blog.” Please keep spreading the word. Thanks! — Today we present another entry for Round 22 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The contest prizes include: First Prize: Two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is an up to $4,000 value! Second Prize: A three day course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing Round 22 ends …


Preparing Your Family for “Interesting” Times: A Covenantal Christian Perspective, by Jim B.

Discerning believers have sensed a decisive change coming for several years. If history truly repeats itself, we are heading into a season of judgment and serious difficulty which may last beyond our current generation. Whether judgment and difficulties are reflected in the current economic crisis, ongoing terrorist attacks, unrighteous leaders or a host of other combined circumstances, many believe we are on the threshold of very perilous times (II Timothy 3). Our family ministry has done significant travel throughout the country over the past ten years, and we never fail to be in awe of the Great Shepherd’s faithfulness toward …


Letter Re: Canadian Gun Shows–Behind The Power Curve

James, Just sending this letter as a quick update to the situation with ammunition and “black guns” or defensive weapons in Canada. Contrary to what many people think, Canada does allow citizens to get licensed and own firearms of most types. Basically anything except full auto weapons unless you previously owned one years ago and were grandfathered after that particular portion of Nazi legislation was implemented. This last weekend I was fortunate to attend Canada’s largest gun show in western Canada located in Cow Town, Calgary, Alberta. This gun show is nothing compared to the big shows across many of …


Economics and Investing:

Craig W. recommended this Don McAlvany address, in MP3 format: The Global State of Emergency Made Local Reader G.G. sent this: Capital One sounds alert over surge in credit card loss rates D.S. flagged this: A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come. The numbers cited are staggering! Items from The Economatrix: A “Copper Standard” For The World’s Currency? “China has woken up. The West is a black hole with all this money being printed. The Chinese are buying raw materials because it is a much better way to use their $1.9 trillion of reserves.” …