Month: November 2012

Some Observations on Privately Owned Firearms

Washington D.C. is presently all abuzz with talk of the BHO Administration looking for an opportunity to enact the UN’s stalled Small Arms and Light Weapons Treaty. Meanwhile, Senator-For-Life Dianne Feinstein is “consensus building” to reenact the so-called Assault Weapons and “high capacity” magazine ban. (Note that the term “high capacity” is a specious political creation, to wit: A 30 round magazine is standard capacity for an AR or an AK, and anything less than that is a reduced capacity magazine. Get your terminology straight and don’t fall for semantics traps!) Rumor has it that this new incarnation of the …


Medical Prepping in Three Months — Part 2 of 2, by Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

As of today, many families are still suffering from the effects of Superstorm Sandy.  Are you prepared, should such a disaster strike your area? The following is offered as an outline for medical prepping, should you someday find yourself without access to professional medical care.  (Part 1 of this series covered weeks 1 through 6.) Please note the following abbreviations: ORG = organizational concerns OTC = over-the-counter products Rx = prescription products ED = education and skills The supplies listed under OTC can all be purchased without a prescription, though some are only available online.  For prescription items, assess what …


Harry’s Book Review: The World Ends in Hickory Hollow

The World Ends in Hickory Hollow by Ardath Mayhar Copyright 1985 and 2007 Publisher: The Borgo Press, An Imprint of Wildside Press Audio, e-book, Nook & Secure PDF available Suitable for children? Yes, by age 10+, depending on the child? (I recommend that parents read it first to evaluate.) There are two things about this book which strike me as remarkable for the genre: First, this is a book written by a woman and told from a woman’s point of view, and second, this book is very concise. With regard to the first point, I noticed that there was recently …


Pat’s Product Review: Bear & Son Bold Action Folders

I was more than a little anxious to get to the new Bear OPS “Bold Action” automatic folder for SurvivalBlog. For those who may not be aware of who Bear & Son Cutlery are, they have been around since 1991 and have a very extensive line of knives and tools for everyday tasks, as well as for survival, hunting and for collectors. Be sure to log onto their site to see their complete line-up. However, for this article, we’re only looking at their new division of Bear OPS. The stated goal of Bear OPS is to produce the “best knives …


Letter Re: Experience with a Restrictive State Pistol Permit Process

Jim, Thank you for your ‘forward’ as well as the article: Experience with a Restrictive State Pistol Permit Process. We in New Jersey experience similar issues. A regular citizen cannot even obtain a carry permit here. It is basically limited to retired police and that even has to be basically approved or recommended by their former chief. There are limited others that may obtain like private investigators. Even with the concealed carry for retired police they must pay a yearly fee plus qualify (at an additional cost) as if still a police officer two times per year. It really would …


Recipe of the Week:

Ray T.’s Baked Rice Pudding Ingredients: 1/2 cup – cooked rice 2/3 cup – Molasses or cane syrup 1 teaspoon – Salt 1 Tablespoon – Butter 1 teaspoon – Cinnamon 4 cups – Milk Stir together all of the ingredients except the milk. Once they are thoroughly mixed, then add in milk. Stir well. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Bake for the first hour stirring occasionally. Then finish baking without stirring until it is firm, which is usually about 2 hours. Useful Recipe and Cooking Links: 19th Century Recipes Colonial American Recipes Currently Available as Free Kindle e-Books: 35 Slow …


Economics and Investing:

Tossing a bone: Boehner Would Accept ‘New Revenue’ Under ’Right Conditions’. (But soon after, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican of Kentucky) put his foot down adamantly: no tax hikes. Some news from Greece: Sharp rise in overdue debts to the State Jim Rogers: Money Printing Will Run Amok. Obama 2.0 & the Fiscal Cliff: Implications for America, the Markets, the Dollar, and Gold Items from The Economatrix: Wage Costs Rise More Slowly As US Employers Hold The Line US Home Sales Dip 1.7% On Tight Inventory Can Asia Demand Help Gold Break $1,800 Barrier? Doug Casey:  There’s Going To …


Odds ‘n Sods:

News from Maker Faire, Nigeria: Teens Create A Way To Use Urine As Fuel    o o o Florida officials order partial recount in tight House race between Rep. West and Democratic challenger Murphy. (Gee, could it perhaps be because of the 113% to 158% voter turnout? See: Massive Voter Fraud in St. Lucie County, Florida. Avalanche Lily says: Obviously they need to more than just re-count the ballots. Have another election, confirm IDs, and use purple dye to prevent ballot stuffing!)    o o o Reader S.E.M. gave us: Reason # 1,492,683 not to live in an urban area. …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The bottom line in all this is that once the debt collapse begins, it’s the preppers who have the firepower, the skills, the food, the water and the farmland. It’s the veterans, the farmers and the local sheriffs who have the know-how to get through tough times. While Obamabot voters have put America on a collision with economic collapse, they remain clueless of the reality that they are bringing about their own destruction in the process. After all, who would you rather be hanging with when the collapse comes: Michael Moore, or James Wesley Rawles?” – Mike Adams, in Natural …


Notes from JWR:

November 11th is Veteran’s Day in these United States and Remembrance Day (or Poppy Day) in the UK Commonwealth. (Although in many places the work holiday will be on Monday the 12th, to make it a three day weekend.) Please take a minute to visit this web page and this photo gallery. — This is also the birthday of General George S. Patton, Jr. (born 1885, died December 21, 1945.) The Armistice ending World War I was announced on his birthday That was when he was a 33 year old Colonel, recuperating in hospital from combat wounds to his leg. …


The Core Kit: First Aid and Beyond, by Jason J.

Beans, bullets, and Band-Aids are the basics of prepping. Each has its own place, and they each lean on each other. Beans are pretty easy, but expensive. You spend the money, organize yourself and learn to use the food. There are more sources to learn about this than you could ever read, we all know about eating, and you are certain to need food in almost any situation you can imagine! Bullets are really not that complicated. We make it complicated, but as an Army Ranger that has been shot at countless times, I promise you will not question if …


Letter Re: Four State Constitutional Amendments Renouncing Obamacare

Mr. Rawles, An interesting subtext in the latest elections is the that five states had amendments on the ballots, that attempt to prevent anyone from being required to purchase health care coverage such as Obamacare.   The measures passed in four of these states: Alabama, Missouri, Montana, and Wyoming.   A similar amendment failed to pass in Florida.   While generally a moot point as Federal law trumps (remember the Civil War, anyone)…this is an interesting perspective on the mood in some states. – R.T. JWR Replies: It is not surprising that two of those four states are in The American …


Economics and Investing:

New coinage composition: Cents action or delay? (Note that December 13, 2012 is the deadline for the report on the new minting recommendations.) Schrader: Farmland Values Remain Strong Across Spectrum of Quality and Location Argentines Prepare for Huge Anti-Government March Some interesting reading on legal tender paper currencies versus the Constitution: The Dollar, Revisited. Items from The Economatrix: German Calls For Gold Repatriation Intensify As Fed Refuses To Allow Inspection Hathaway:  Gold Set Up To Super-Surge To New All-Time Highs Investors Fear More Than Just A “Fiscal Cliff” McDonald’s Sales Drops For First Time Since 2003


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader M.E.W. suggested this essay by Dean Kalahar: America Has Sown the Seeds Of Its Own Demise    o o o How nice of them to wait until after the election to mention this: After Obama win, U.S. backs new U.N. arms treaty talks    o o o More legal trouble for Sheila Dixon, one of Mikey Bloomberg’s cabal of gun-grabbing, graft-greedy mayors: Former mayor charged with probation violation. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) She called the charges “a setback”. (Coming up $15,000 short may nullify her sweetheart deal with the court, which had allowed her to keep her …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, [is] therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through …