Here we live in a country that has a fabulous constitution and all these guarantees, a contract between the citizens and the government – nobody knows what’s in it. It’s one of the best kept secrets. And so, if you don’t know what your rights are, how can you stand up for them? And furthermore, if you don’t know what is in that document, how can you care if someone is shredding it?” – Frank Zappa (1940 – 1993), as quoted by Spin Magazine, July 1991
James, Our family recently found your book and blog. We are working diligently to prepare. One question I have not seen addressed: What do you think about sending a child to college? We are a conservative, Christian, home schooling family. Our daughter has been looking forward to attending a small Christian college that is about 1-1/2 hours from our home. Now that we are awake we are feeling that keeping her close to home as we prepare to relocate is best. Any thoughts? – S. in Southern California JWR Replies: A college that is just a 1-1/2 hour drive is …
Hello Jim, Anyone serious about food production needs to have a quality rear-tined tiller such as a Troy-Bilt. However the cost can be prohibitive,close to $2,000 for the seven horsepower model. But be patient and keep an eye on auctions, classified ads, etc. Two weeks ago a good friend picked up an older model Troy-Bilt at an auction for $450. We were both like kids at Christmas (I already have mine). This brings up another point. This same friend had always been a guns and ammo kind of prepper. After several months of convincing he has finally seen the need …
Mr. Rawles, We have recently found that we have also made a food storage blunder and hope to prevent someone else from doing the same. Following the eat what you store and store what you eat advice, we store a good bit of rice. We purchase buckets at the local big box home store and thought we were doing ourselves a favor by adding one more thing to keep the rice fresh in our humid climate. We put the rice in the “clean” looking white kitchen trash bags, using them as a liner, and then in the buckets. We did …
JWR’s Introductory Note: I got the following from a legitimate reporter that has promised a fair and balanced article. Of course the usual OPSEC considerations apply… Hello. I am a reporter with The Associated Press and I am working on a story about the growing number of people taking steps to stock up on emergency food, water and other supplies because of concerns about the recession and the stability of the networks that keep our grocery stores stocked up and our power running. I interviewed Jim Rawles last week and he suggested that I post here to find people who …
Jim: While solid tires have their advantages, ordering them from the Airfreetires.com company is not recommended. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gives them an F rating. Just wanted my fellow readers to know they should be leery of ordering from them. I do not speak from personal experience because I heeded the warnings I read on a wonderful resource for bicycle info: www.bikeforums.net The “Utility Cycling” area has a wealth of info concerning the type of info on foam-filled tires.- EliteT
From frequent content contributor G.G.: Gold rush in the suburbs as shine disappears from economy D.D. suggested this: Why the bank stress tests are bunk; The Obama team has put banks under the microscope and plans to release the results. If the findings are bad, expect more market turmoil. If they’re rosy, who’ll believe them? Some sobering news in The New York Times: I.M.F. Puts Bank Losses From Global Financial Crisis at $4.1 Trillion Items from The Economatrix: Freddie Mac CFO Apparent Suicide Global Economy Expected to Shrink this Year Leading Economist Decries Power of Wall Street “Oligarchs” Five Reasons …
Several items of gun news were sent to us by Cheryl: Firearm Sales Surging Since Obama’s Election — Gun Ownership Growing, Following National Trends — Shortage of Guns, Ammo Reported o o o Cheryl also mentioned an interesting piece over at Steve Quayle’s site: Raising Catfish In A Barrel o o o Some encouraging news: Gary in Montana mentioned that the recently-enacted “Made in Montana” Federal gun law exemption (Montana HB 246), is now being emulated in two other state legislatures: Alaska HB 186 and Texas HB 1863. I expect this trend to continue, especially in southern and …
“The bulls will buy stocks believing that we have another bull market on our hands. After having lost 50% of their money since 2007, they’ll lose another 20% – 30% when this rally collapses. The bears, meanwhile, are convinced that there is worse to come. They think the stimulus spending programs will cause inflation. So they’re buying gold and commodity stocks sure that when inflation comes, it will cause mining and oil stocks to soar. Maybe it will eventually. But the first big move will probably be down. They, too, will lose big. That could be the Big Surprise of …
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 on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for …
In any emergency or survival situation food is a primary necessity. So naturally there are many discussions and advice here and on other forums concerning food and food storage. There is a lot of great information and products available for long term (10-15 year) food storage. I have read many articles comparing the various MREs available, poured over blog posts about the best freeze dried foods, and watched Google videos on the proper storage of whole wheat grains. Popular vendors such as CampingSurvival.com and other SurvivalBlog sponsors offer freeze dried meals and canned food with extended shelf lives such as …
Six Letters Re: Bicycles as Bug-Out and Utility Vehicles James Firstly I wish there were at least as many bicycle articles and questions on SurvivalBlog as gun posts. As a gun maker, gunsmith, firearm owner, and combat user I still put a fancy semi-auto combat rifle below a decent bicycle for most people’s survival purchase priorities. Let me offer a contrarian viewpoint on the priority of complete firearm battery in your survival shopping list. Obtain some snares, a quality .22 semi-auto, and a few thousand rounds of ammo, a few months of food and cooing fuel, basic camping/shelter gear and …
James: As for using a bicycle as a PTO device, imagine being asked to pedal uphill for hours on end, going nowhere, summer or winter, until the power comes back, this is the slavery of powering off of your bicycle, it works to provide some feeble current, but there are much better ways to spend your man hours and food calories. Notable exceptions are using a small wheel generator for bike lights or small battery charging like mobile phones as you travel, BTW you will need to add a rectifier and voltage regulator circuit since bike generators produce AC power, …
Allen C. sent this: Most Bailed Out Banks Reduced Lending Since Getting Funds KAF sent this bit of news on the continuing nationalization of US banking: U.S. May Convert Bank Bailouts to Common Stock Items from The Economatrix: GM to Cut 1,600 Jobs in Next Few Days Bank Bailout Plan’s “Stress Test” Already Causing Stress Recession Pits Small Banks Against Big Banks Drivers Paying Highest Gas Prices So Far in 2009 Expect another 20 cent rise for the summer. Geithner Defends Bank Rescue Program Amid Warnings GM, Chrysler to Get $5B More A Backdoor Nationalization: The Latest Treasury Brainstorm Will …
Even the leftist San Francisco Chronicle couldn’t deny the good news is a recent 9th Circuit Court decision: Citizens can challenge state, local gun laws. (Thanks to Skip for the link.) And speaking of guns, don’t miss this analysis of current events, over at Tamara’s blog: Some more ruminations on the ammo shortage. o o o Thanks to KAF for finding this: Gun foes fight over assault weapons. o o o JHB recommended this: Taking a close look at Facebook. JHB’s comment: “Don’t be paranoid but you are being watched.” o o o FerFAL has published a …