Month: March 2013

Colorado’s Million Magazine March

On March 20th, Colorado’s Democrat Governor John Hickenlooper did a very foolish thing. He signed into law a ban on any magazine over 15 round capacity with a ban on shotguns with tubular magazines that can hold more than 28 lineal inches of shotshells, and another law that will ban private party sales of guns. (All transfers except a few within families will have to be handled through Federally licensed dealers. ) Because the magazine ban won’t take effect until July 1, 2013, I can predict an unintended consequence: Close to one million magazines of 16+ round capacity will be …


Letter Re: The Right to Open Carry Guns: Use It or Lose It

Mr. Rawles, I read your essay “The Right to Open Carry Guns: Use It or Lose It,” with interest.  I watched the videos you linked to with horror.  I was awestruck. It is a shock to my system to see law enforcement officers so poorly trained and so willing to violate rights of citizens.  Perhaps I should know better by now.  To think that just one telephone call from a “concerned citizen” is enough to cause the police to violate a law abiding persons civil rights is terrifying. I live in an extremely 2nd amendment friendly state, Arizona.  It is …


Letter Re: Preparing Your Sons and Daughters

[Editor’s Note: The following letter was edited substantially, for factual accuracy and for protection from potential libel litigation.] Dear Mr. Rawles, Readers should be made aware that the ALERT Academy has some connection to the defunct Worldwide Church of God. I would never put any child of mine under this influence. While it sounds like a wonderful program, their founding roots were in a group that at one time had very dangerous doctrine. To understand the influence of cults, I recommend the Under Much Grace web site. I believe that you never intended SurvivalBlog to endorse this kind of doctrine. – …


Letter Re: Become Your Own Herbal Doctor

Jim: I enjoyed the Become Your Own Herbal Doctor article very much as herbal medicine is my current interest and latest preparation.  Because I did not learn this type of information from my grandmothers or mother, I have opted to take a class to speed up the learning curve.  The author is correct; the home remedies our families knew just a hundred years ago have already been lost to most of us.  Taking this class has been a fun and educational process.  We have learned so many herbs and their uses; we’ve even crafted our first (sprain/strain) salve.  There is …


Economics and Investing:

Reader B.B. suggested: Paul Craig Roberts: Triple Bubble Implosion Coming I Moved my Money Out of the Stock Market-Laurence Kotlikoff F.G. suggested: NPR’s ‘This American Life’ spotlights Hale County, where 1 in 4 are on disability. Steve Saville: The Fed Continues To Pump Aggressively Items from The Economatrix: Americans Still Doubtful About Stock Market, Economy Bernanke Fails To Answer Concerns About A Cyprus-Style Seizure Of American Bank Deposits The Fed Has Already Imposed A “Cyprus Tax” On US Savers Fitch Puts UK On Review For Downgrade


Odds ‘n Sods:

Ready for the apocalypse! One American family shows what it takes to prepare for the end of civilisation as we know it. I certainly hope that they used assumed names, but somehow I doubt it. Think OPSEC, folks!    o o o Reader James K. suggested this: Tell-all cars put your driving business out in the open    o o o Time to switch cable TV companies! “’Consistent with long-standing NBC policies, Comcast Spotlight has decided it will not accept new advertising for firearms or weapons moving forward,’ said Chris Ellis, a spokesman for Comcast’s advertising sales division, Comcast Spotlight.” …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“What remains are games of musical chairs, Ponzi schemes, frauds, swindles, stonewalls, ruses, ploys, scams, dodges, bluffs, subterfuges, QE martingales, interventions, rehypothecations, pretenses and other modes of evading or disguising reality. The reality is that there is not enough real wealth to go around, certainly not enough to cover the giant web of obligations that masquerades as ‘money.’” – James Howard Kunstler in an essay titled The Cyprus Fiasco Is A Metaphor For The Entire Global Financial System


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 …


Thoughts on Dogs at Survival Retreats, by D.K., DVM

Should you shelter-in-place or move to a retreat?  Lots of pros and cons about this, and most of it depends upon strength in numbers.  Obviously, the more remote and inaccessible your castle is, the harder it will be for intruders to discover or invade.  But I’m 65, and I don’t own any remote property.  My house sits on a very defendable cul-de-sac, essentially surrounded on three sides by water – my “moat.”  I could pull stakes and move to a national park or wildlife preserve, but it would be a simple campsite with tent and no walls, and I would …


Letter Re: Storage Foods at COSTCO Stores

James – I am on Long Island in New York. Recently I ran into a great deal at my two local Costco stores for 72 hour [storage food] buckets.  This was advertised as a combination food, cooking (fire) and water (filter) kit. At Christmas these buckets were $79.99 each–a bit pricey. However when I was there on Tuesday, the [local store’s] price had dropped to $9.98 a bucket! So I cleaned them out. These buckets are still on their web site for $79.99 apiece. I just wanted to pass this on to you so your readers could get in on …


News From The American Redoubt:

My favorite gunsmith for rebluing guns is Mel Doyle’s in Plummer, Idaho. They have very reasonable rates, and they do fantastic work. They can also handle more than just bluing and Parkerizing. For example they’ve done a few Saiga shotguns conversions for our family and cured Avalanche Lily‘s Galil rifle of a wicked “Curse of the AK” trigger slap. Mel and his staff run their bluing tanks almost every workday. If you aren’t local to the area, you can simply mail them a rifle or shotgun, and they will reblue it and mail it back to you. (Handguns or handgun …


Economics and Investing:

Cyprus Salvaged After EU Deal Shuts Bank to Get $13 Billion. (A 40% higher haircut for large depositors! The Russians are fuming.) Rick Rule: Gold Fear Trade, Silver Greed Trade, Platinum Math Trade NY Times: Younger Generations Lag Parents in Wealth-Building Silver Prices Before the Monetary Collapse Michael Pollaro: Cyprus, Anything But Unique and Why to Worry Items from The Economatrix: Federal Reserve Sees Slow Recovery For Years To Come Veteran Unemployment Dropped To 9.9% In 2012, Though Still Higher Than Non-Vets FedEx Raises Red Flags About Global Economy


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Seven States Running Out of Water. JWR’s Comment: But consider that watching year-to-year drought conditions give you only the micro view, while monitoring long term the depth of aquifers (water tables) gives you the macro view. (Looking at longer time frame provides better long term planning.) Be sure to study aquifer depletion before choosing a retreat locale!    o o o Sacred mystery: Blockbuster ratings for ‘The Bible’ confound Hollywood. JWR’s Comment: What “mystery”? People just like to watch uplifting and wholesome things.    o o o A bit of humor: As every real prepper knows: Le papier ne …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"To see why stock prices and hiring are not correlated, imagine yourself as the owner of a pizza shop. The economy has been bad, and people are buying less pizza, so you fire two of your cooks and reduce the number of pies you prepare. Suddenly, your cousin Ben wins the lottery and decides to give you $10,000 for a piece of your business. Now that you have another 10 grand in the bank, and your business is worth a bit more, are you suddenly going to hire back the two cooks to make more pies that nobody will buy? …