“The Fed is in a bind. No matter which way it turns, utter failure is a risk. Putting more money into the system risks no less than the dollar itself. Stopping quantitative easing (QE) risks plunging the economy and financial system into another period of turbulent decline.” – Chris Martenson
Today we present another entry for Round 34 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round 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 $795, and B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo , and …
I live in the country and so I am used to gardening, canning, saving and preparing. However, when I talk to many people who live in the city and live either with minimal land and perhaps apartments, they do not seem prepared or not as prepared as they could be. When I ask if they store or grow any food, they just sort of look at me. When I tell them they should either grow some food or store food not only in case of natural disaster, but even due to inflation and rising prices, the looks become bewildered. They’ll …
The lessons of my essay are simply this: talk with your kids, include them in your preps, and listen to them. My foray into prepping began in 2008, courtesy of my then 10-year-old son. My astute older child noticed how stressed mom and dad were with the rising costs, lowered wages, and cut hours that we were experiencing thanks to the newly developed recession. My son asked if he could put in a garden, a novel idea for my core family unit. He felt the need to help contribute to the family in some way. I must inject a little …
Mr. Rawles, Thank you for all you do. I cherish my daily visits to SurvivalBlog. The recent letter titled “Living in a Small Town – An Australian Perspective” by Margaret G. inspired me to write you. We moved from a large city to place just outside a small town a year ago. We are just now being accepted as part of the community. I agree very much with Margaret G.! Another thing I can add is joining the local Volunteer Fire Department. Through the dept and a lot of hard work we find ourselves a part of the community. Because …
JWR: I read with interest the recent letter that included this: “I fully realize what a hungry man will do to feed his family and have even been told by a law enforcement officer that he don’t need to store food. He said that he could take it for his family so they don’t starve. I know he has a large arsenal and I get his drift.” This fallacious and frankly un-Christian belief that the writer encountered is not unique. I was discussing the need to obtain an emergency food supply with a couple of lads who work at the …
Dear Editor: I recommend Gatton Farms, Fathers’ Country Hams. These are the best hams I have ever tasted. If you have never had one, you are missing out , it is not like any other ham in the world. The hams that store are the Uncooked variety. I would inquire of them about storage temp and humidity requirements as well as aging out time. The mold continues to grow on the exterior on the rind as part of the aging process and may have to be arrested at some point before it detracts from the meat quality. Additionally you …
Robert R. wrote to recommend an interview with Bob Chapman of The International Forecaster wherein he lays out “details on where gold and silver is going and explains the shorts by the big banks, market crashes and dollar defaults, and warns to buy plenty of freeze dried foods, battle rifles, thousands of rounds of ammo, and plenty of spare magazines.” Price of gold means panning supplies and metal detectors are flying off shelves. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.) C.D.V. was the first of several readers to send a link to an article that was also featured on The Drudge …
Feds mine Facebook for info. JWR Adds: I expect this sort of intrusive intelligence gathering to be commonplace, soon. Avoid social network services! o o o Tom F. recommended these two Altoids tin hobby projects: Altoids Solar Charger and Altoids Emergency USB Charger. o o o I just noticed that our SurvivalBlog visitors map shows that I have a reader on Madagascar and one in Antarctica. The Internet is a simply amazing way of linking folks, globally. I’d like to welcome our many new readers. (SurvivalBlog now gets well in excess of one million unique visits per month!) …
"Peace if possible, truth at all costs." – Martin Luther
Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel “Atlas Shrugged” is enjoying renewed popularity following the release of the new Atlas Shrugged movie. Rand’s story describes a group of American industrialists that lose patience with onerous regulation and taxation, and “shrug”–disappearing from their normal lives to relocate to a hidden valley called Galt’s Gulch. While this tale is fictional, it has some strong parallels to modern-day America. And despite the fact that Ayn Rand was an atheist and favored legalized abortion, she was a good judge of both character and the inevitable tendencies of elected governments. When I consider the regulatory and tax burdens …
Letter Re: Inexpensive Mailorder Eyeglasses James, Just completed an order with Zenni Optical for a pair of “computer glasses” (as opposed to “reading glasses” for the tech age, I suppose) and I am very pleased. For $11.90 with shipping and handling. I got a pair of glasses that I was able to customize for computer work. You can hardly get a pair of generic Chinese-made readers from Wal-Mart anymore for that price. I plan to make a bulk order of backup glasses for the family from them. It took a while to get them, but it was within the timeframe …
Sir, A point I would like to make to those that are living in a city, suburb or rural setting: If you are in a TEOTWAWKI scenario, then I am guessing you have read much of what is here and hopefully feel somewhat ready to take care of you and yours. I would suggest that unless you are able and willing to feed a whole neighborhood–I for one, am not–then please realize what smells have to do with your survival. If you go out your door on any given day you will note what is cooking or burning within a …
The book Poke Greens For Breakfast? is a collection of memories of a woman who grew up in rural Arkansas in the early 1900s. It is an excellent antidote for those who might overly romanticizing of that kind of life. The author, Walta Sorrels Jennings, belonged to a privileged class. Her step-father owned land, cattle and businesses. He hired people. And life was still a relentless, physical grind. Step-mothers and step-fathers were the norm due to high mortality rates. Some girls married at age 13. (The reason given was that they had “kissed”, but likely that was code for intimate …
Hi James, I wanted to share that Jo-Ann’s (a chain craft store) has half-price sign up days for their classes once per month. The next two half price days are May 7th and June 11th. I am not 100% sure but I think the knitting 101 and crochet 101 basics include supplies. They are under $20 per class, if you sign on the half price days. They also e-mail out either 40% or 50% coupons once per week. Two months ago they had a $5/off any $5 purchase. I was able to buy several circular knitting needles for $1 – $2 each. With the 50% off coupon I can get …