Day: March 9, 2013

Notes from JWR:

March 9th is the birthday of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to ever travel in space. (He was born 9 March 1934. He died 27 March 1968 in the crash of a MiG-15-UTI fighter.) — Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) 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 …


Fire: Your Partner in Survival, by Pledger

Eons ago when people lived in caves, one of their most important tools was fire.  Its ability to keep them warm, cook food, provide light, and scare away predators was of the utmost importance.  Some kind of a societal upheaval may not necessarily mean returning to a stone age existence, but when the systems that keep our everyday life humming along go down, fire will once again have a huge impact on our ability to survive. This fact was brought home to my wife and me two winters ago, when a February blizzard knocked out the power to several counties.  …


Letter Re: A Prepper’s Holiday

As hinted by C.E.B’s article, Pesach (Passover) and Sukkot (Festival of Booths) are Jewish holidays — two of the three major festivals — in the Jewish calendar. That calendar is a Lunar/Solar calendar that does not correspond with the Gregorian calendar, which is why which holiday dates vary each year in the Gregorian calendar. Watching and marking the phases of the moon is not all there is to the Jewish calendar. Before the calendar’s calculations were settled by Hillel II in the fourth century the first sliver of the new moon was reported to the Sanhedrin. Based on the report …


Auction Update: PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope to Benefit C.R.O.S.S. Ministries

CURRENT BID is $3,600 (Bid by Reader D.J.G.) Simply e-mail us your bids. I will post regular updates on the bidding. The final deadline will be Midnight EST on Monday, March 11, 2013. Thanks for your generous bids in support of C.R.O.S.S. Ministries. We are continuing a benefit auction of a brand new AN/PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope. All proceeds (100% of your bid) will be donated to C.R.O.S.S. Ministries. (A very worthy Christian ministry that is sharing the Gospel of Christ in South Sudan. Their outreach method is unique: They are teaching rural villagers tactical marksmanship, water purification, …


Economics and Investing:

The Ten Worst States for Taxes (Nine Are Blue States) And it is no great surprise that none of them are American Redoubt States. Time To Buy Silver Coins? Items from The Economatrix: Spending Cuts:  It’s About To Get Weird Bernanke:  Spending Cuts Add “Significant” Burden To Recovery For The Middle Class, Expenses Grow Faster Than Paychecks


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader John J. liked this piece that ran last November over at The Art of Manliness: How to Bug-In: What You Need to Know to Survive a Grid-Down Disaster    o o o This series of videos shows that it is no longer fun to live within 60 miles of the Mexican border.    o o o Will states go where Congress hasn’t on gun laws?    o o o Synching the US Power Grid to Protect Against Blackouts. I have always suspected that the planned inter-tie between the Eastern and Western power grids had an ulterior motive. Methinks this …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” – Isaiah 9:6-7 (KJV)