Day: July 23, 2010

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 29 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of …


Low Cost Preparedness, by J.E.

We, in the U.S.A., live on a knife edge.  Most of us take our life of ease (compared to the rest of the world) for granted, The ones who don’t are preppers and survivalists.  The television and radio give almost instant notification of the latest earthquake, hurricane, fire, or whatever and that makes many of us casual about disaster.  We get used to hearing about it so we ignore it beyond a “Gee that’s too bad!”  After all, disasters only happen to “the other guy.” Prepping for the individual and the way we go about it is different in almost …


Letter Re: Recurve Bows for Survival

Dear Jim, First let me say that I really enjoy SurvivalBlog.com! I faithfully read it daily even if it is very late when I get the chance, I read it daily. I pastor a church and much of my day is spent running around, so sometimes I don’t get the opportunity to “research” the news like I want to; SurvivalBlog readers do a good part of that for me. Thanks for all you do and for all they do. About two months ago I stepped into my local archery shop and purchased a bow. I bought a recurve with 50 …


Letter Re: An Arizona Traffic Jam Provides an Object Lesson

Hi Jim, On Wednesday (July 21st) I drove 90 miles down I-17 to Phoenix to have a enclosed shell “cap” installed on the bed of my pickup. “No big deal; the cap arrived early, and I should be to town and back by mid-afternoon….” …so I thought! The trip to town was easy, and the installation went smoothly. On the ride home I stopped for a gigantic Coca-Cola (one of my little habits). As I left the north side of the Phoenix metro area, an electronic highway sign said “Car fire – ten miles, I-17 North closed.” Okay … since …


Letter Re: Riots and Civil Unrest in America

CPT Rawles: One thing that was not mentioned by B.B .was that it was Federal [Active Duty] troops that had to come in and help put the rioting down. The 7th Infantry Division (Light), which I was with at that time, and Marines from Camp Pendleton. I can assure you that we had plenty of ammunition. We too were passing out ammo to both the police and the National Guard. Our Rules of Engagement (ROEs) were very strict we could not fire unless fired upon, and we had to have a visual on the bad guy. Also were going out …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this: Marc Faber expects a return to massive quantitative easing by October China: The US is “Insolvent and Faces Bankruptcy” (Our thanks to B.B. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Stocks Surge on Upbeat Earnings, Forecasts It’s TEOTWAWKI Filibuster Broken, Jobless Benefits May Flow Soon Jobless Rates Improve But Many Have Given Up Looking The Retirement Nightmare: Half of Americans Have Less than $2,000 Saved for Retirement Intrigue Builds in the Comex Silver Pits Penniless Idiocy (The Mogambo Guru) US Housing Starts Drop to Lowest Levels Since October Fed to Push Rates Lower? Some Traders Betting on …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Chris in Virginia sent a link to a site with information on oil presses. Chris notes: “The ability from seeds grown on your own property should be of interest to many who want independence. Based on the data provided on line, a patch of sunflowers could provide significant amounts of oil for both culinary and fuel usage.”    o o o JRH Enterprises is sponsoring started a new survival message board/forum: SurvivalAndPreparedness.com. Check it out!    o o o Reader J.S. mentioned that even Yahoo now recommends stocking up. J.S. notes: “The comments following are even more enlightening.”    o …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism—by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide." – Ayn Rand, “Foreign Policy Drains U.S. of Main Weapon,” The Los Angeles Times, Sept. 9, 1962