Month: March 2013

Notes from JWR:

The 6th of March is the 35th anniversary of the death of American volunteer Trooper Frank P. Battaglia, in Zambia. Already a veteran of both the U.S. Army in Vietnam and the Spanish Foreign Legion, Battaglia joined the Rhodesian Army and served with distinction until his death on an external op. — Today we present another two entries 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. …


Games Preppers Play, by T.W.

Preparedness is well within the top ten subject matters of interest today.  Most everyone is thinking about it and many of us are well under way toward some level of advanced planning.  Groups of like minded families are common but it would be a mistake to fail at making preparedness attractive to our children. Our pioneer ancestors invented creative games to teach their children skills of survival in an unfriendly world.  Games were simple and fit for most occasions.  If they were weathered in at a cabin, there was a game where one child was the subject and the others …


Caring For Kids, by Mrs. H.

Are you responsible for the most valuable commodity in the world? Do you have small children? Are you a grandparent? Even though your grown children currently think you are crazy, will they be showing up at your door in a SHTF scenario? What about the neighbor down the road, the single mother that is just barely getting by financially? Even though they are not actually your responsibility, will you be able to turn away a stranger with an infant or small child pleading for help? What does God expect out of us? What if you were suddenly responsible for an …


Letter Re: A Female’s Viewpoint on How to Prepare

Regarding the piece by I.S. on a female’s point of view, she is right on with how to introduce a non-prepper to this world.  I have done the same but with my husband, I am the gardener, shooter, and all around prepper.  Though we do not have a lot of funds, you can nickel and dime it towards your survival goals and I have done this with proof to him such as becoming debt free, minus the mortgage, getting branches and salvage wood for free for the wood stove to save on heat, stocking up on food and now growing …


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

CURRENT BID is $3,000 (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:

G.G. flagged this: Is the dollar as good as gold? Life After QE: The Fed Is Starting To Prepare For A Future PR Nightmare The Daily Bell reports: The New Era in Gold Repatriation Will Affect Everything Items from The Economatrix: Dow Surges To New Closing High On Economy, Fed’s Help Dow Breaks Record, But Party Unlikely To Last [JWR’s Comment: The Fed’s addiction to Quantitative Easing has created this bubble. As with other severe addictions, this won’t end well.] Jobless Claims Fall Sharply


Odds ‘n Sods:

Holder: Yep, Obama could kill Americans on U.S. soil. And here is an interesting companion piece: Police Search Cell Phones On Massive Scale. (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.)    o o o “Why Am I Not Surprised? Department: ‘Freedom’ license plate banned in Washington D.C.    o o o James C. sent: Self-Igniting Fire Starter    o o o South Dakota approves guns in the classroom. (JWR’s Comment: It is amazing to see the difference between the various states and their prevailing attitudes, in the ongoing debate over civilian disarmament. At the same time that California, Colorado, and New …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

‘If we are going to wet our proverbial pants over 0.3% in annual spending cuts when we’re running up trillion dollar annual deficits, then we’re done. Put a fork in us. We’re finished. We’re going to default eventually and that’s why the feds are stockpiling bullets in case of civil unrest.” – Sarah Palin, in a Facebook message on February 26, 2013.


Note from JWR:

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 military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 …


A Female’s Viewpoint on How to Prepare, by I.S.

Everyone has their own unique story why they became a prepper. Mine began five years ago when my husband started ranting about the worsening economic situation in the country. I was only listening with half an ear. Sure, I noticed that food prices were creeping up with every shopping trip, and that it was getting more expensive to fill up my car every week, but didn’t that happen every year due to inflation? Why was my husband so upset about this? Although, we started discussing world events and politics more often, I still did not understand why he was so …


Letter Re: Hiding What is Mine

Dear JWR: Like most of us I am storing food in preparation of something bad happening. I have some super pails along with regular grocery items as well as some freeze dried items. I have a pantry which has long since been over run with supplies, so I built a couple heavy duty cabinets in which to store my overflow. When the great SEE (Society Ending Event) comes about I am quite sure our government won’t just shrivel up and go away. Quite the opposite, they will go from house to house looking for stored supplies. If they come to …


Letter Re: Gabbs, Nevada as a Retreat Locale

James,   I recently moved from Phoenix to a neat little remote town in North central Nevada about 7.5 hours north of Vegas and 3 hours west of Reno.   It is a survivalists dream,  sits in a approx 50 mile high desert valley about 4,500 foot elevation surrounded by mountains ranges that protect it from almost all adverse winter storms, etc.   The people are mostly mine workers and very old fashioned, level-headed types who enjoy being isolated and unregulated by the current trends elsewhere.  The area has hundreds of old forestry, mining locations most long since shutdown and forgotten, historic ghost  towns, and …


Letter Re: Surviving Snowmageddon

James, Regarding the recent piece Surviving Snowmageddon: The precursor to Seattle’s 2012 storm was the December 2008 Snowpocalypse. While the power outages weren’t as severe as 2012, the well-publicized driving conditions were nightmarish. [JWR Adds: Ditto for driving Seattle’s steep streets in 2010.] The storm hit during a workday and dropped about two feet of snow across the Puget Sound region. Temps were in the teens, visibility was whiteout, and the snow remained on the ground at least 10 days – quite rare for these parts. People were totally unprepared, especially for the drive home. Freeway traffic was literally at a stand …


Economics and Investing:

Notice the lack of large bumps in the American Redoubt on this zoomable population density map? (Thanks to Craig S. for the link.)    o o o Wyoming legislators lay down welcoming mat for Colorado gun-accessory maker.    o o o In his characteristic writing style, Montana veterinarian and state legislator Krayton Kerns bemoans the nationwide .22 LR ammo drought: Without a Shot    o o o Some Idaho legislative news, courtesy of reader RBS: Idaho Lawmakers Want More Information Before Exempting Pocket Knives as Concealed Weapons. And: Ada County Sheriff Raney’s Idaho gun legislation forum. Also in Idaho: Lawmaker: …


Economics and Investing:

Mayor Bloomberg: Don’t Panic About the Sequester. “Mr. Bloomberg argued the United States could owe “’an infinite amount of money’ and there is no specific amount that would cause the country to default.”Yeah, right. (I think he’s been sneaking a few 32-ounce Mega Big Gulps of Mountain Dew, in violation of his own decree.) Walter Zimmerman: Every Indicator I Follow Shows The Market Is Going To Tank, And There Will Be A New Financial Crisis In Debt We Trust America Before the Bubble Bursts. (Thanks to R.B.S. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Wal-Mart Situation “Getting Worse” New Leaks …