Month: June 2013

Letter Re: The Mass Casualty Incident: Triage

JWR:| That was an excellent article on triage of patients in a mass casualty incident (MCI), which is also known as a multiple casualty incident. I was taught in EMT school that an MCI is any event that my truck can’t handle by itself, or an incident that overwhelms currently available resources because of the number of patients involved. Slightly tangentially, in class one day we were talking about organ donors and I volunteered the information that I haven’t signed up as a donor. There’s no donor info on my driver’s license. However, my wife and family members have been …


Economics and Investing:

Whenever Margin Debt Goes Over 2.25% of GDP the Stock Market Always Crashes. (Thanks to Jim W. for the link.) Physical Gold Market In Disconnect As Premiums Hit Record Items from The Economatrix: Food, Guns, Gold: “The Record Is Rather Clear On The Side Of Commodity Money” Doomsday Poll:  87% Risk Of Stock Crash By End Of Year Housing Recovery to End Soon


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Sacramento Democrat majority steamroller rolls on: California Senate approves 8 gun control bills, including ammo registry. JWR’s Comments: Less well-publicized is SB 108, which will require all gun owners to keep their firearms locked up whenever they leave their property. This raises several issues, not the least of which is that is that it effectively bans gun ownership for anyone who is poor and cannot afford to buy a gun vault. California’s high-minded statist leftists are now enforcers of class distinctions–removing rights from po folks. Shame on them. This same mentality was behind attempts to ban “cheap handguns.” They …



Notes from JWR:

I was saddend to hear of the death of writer Richard Matheson. Requiescat in pace. — June 27th is the 70th birthday of economist Dr. Ravi Batra. (Born 1943.) His predictions on the American economy weren’t wrong. They were just earl.. I thank him for giving us plenty of warning and hence the time needed to prepare. — Today we present another guest article by Amy Alton (of Doom & Bloom fame)


The Mass Casualty Incident: Triage, by Amy Alton, A.R.N.P., and Joe Alton, M.D.

The responsibilities of a medic in times of trouble will usually be one-to-one; that is, the healthcare provider will be dealing with one ill or injured individual at a time.  If you have dedicated yourself to medical preparedness, you will have accumulated significant stores of supplies and some knowledge. Therefore, your encounter with any one person should be, with any luck, within your expertise and resources.  There may be a day, however, when you find yourself confronted with a scenario in which multiple people are injured.  This is referred to as a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI). A mass casualty incident …


Letter Re: A Recommended Retro Reference Site

James, I’m writing to recommend a web site. This guy’s main focus is vintage guitar amplifiers, but he has good repair advice for anyone keeping their vintage vacuum tube radio equipment running, as well. The Idiot’s Guide to Tube Testers…. The Idiot’s Guide to Oscilloscopes… The Idiots Guide to Using  your VTTM (Vacuum Tube Volt Meter)… Regards, – Florida Guy


Letter Re: What is Behind the Dip in Precious Metals Prices?

James, Could you or someone you trust please explain why spot silver has dipped below $20 per Troy ounce? Those of us who don’t have the experience or ability to ferret this knowledge out for ourselves would be grateful. In addition, a forecast for how long this dip might last, would be greatly appreciated. – D.W.N. JWR Replies: The short answer to your question is that Ben Bernanke spoke and the markets panicked. All that it took to spook the markets was an indication that Quantitative Easing monetization might end in the next year, and suddenly everyone realized that the FREE …


Economics and Investing:

History Shows Gold May Drop to as Low as $900 An Oz.—And Still Remain in a Bull Market The new “modest budget” indie movie Alongside Night is now in early release. The film is based on Agorist-Libertarian activist J. Neil Schulman’s novel of the same name. It seems that some gold and silver coins deserve “best supporting” awards. Jim W. sent this: Fed Faces ‘Treacherous’ Path in Exiting its QE. Here is a quote: “Exiting too fast will crash the real economy, while exiting too slowly will create a huge bubble and then crash the financial system.” Get Ready for …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Mendy P. sent: Study: 70 Percent of Americans on Prescription Drugs. JWR’s Comment: If one considers a pharmaceutical supply chain failure in the event of a power grid collapse, then the implications of this study are staggering. What will life in American be like when 27 million Americans are forced to suddenly come down off of antidepressants? There will be no “gradual tapering”–just “cold turkey” withdrawal. My advice: If the grids go down then be prepared to stay off the streets for a few months. There will be a lot of crazy behavior manifested.    o o File Under …



Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of Marine Corps Lt. General Chesty Puller. (Born, 1898, died October 11, 1971.) Perhaps America’s finest-ever maverick officer, Puller was part of what I call the Even Greater Generation. This is also the birthday of my uncle, Joseph Brower. Often in the shadow of his elder brother (the famous environmentalist David Brower), Joe Brower has had an amazing life of his own. He was a navigator on board flying boats during, and after World War II. After the war, as communist troops advanced though China, Joe was a navigator for China National (CNAC.) Then he worked …


Ammunition Caching: A 20 Year Real-World Experiment, by Cache and Carry

           Introduction: Twenty years ago in 1993, I had already been collecting paramilitary style firearms for over 15 years. I remember purchasing my first HK91 rifle in the late 1970s and being so excited about the Galils, Uzis, Valmets, FN/FALs and the other varieties of collectable rifles that were available to a firearms enthusiast in that period of recent American history. Being a collector of arms also made me interested in collecting the ammunition that was abundant in that era. Shortly after getting married in the 1980s, my lovely wife asked, “Why do you need to keep all this ammunition?” …


Letter Re: Circumventing Canada’s Onerous Magazine Ban

Hello Mr. Rawles, This information may be useful for Americans living in states with strict magazine capacities. A loophole exists under Canadian laws that allows shooters the ability to legally bypass magazine capacity restrictions.   Under Canadian law, a magazine DESIGNED for a rifle may only hold five rounds of the caliber it is designed for.  A magazine designed for a pistol may only hold 10 rounds of the caliber for the pistol it is designed for.  But there is no law prohibiting the use of a pistol magazine in a rifle, a magazine designed for a different caliber than …


Economics and Investing:

Jim W. sent a link to some analysis of the recent jump in the 10 Year Treasury rate: The Nightmare Scenario Gold-Bashing Mythology Hits New Crescendo. (Commentary by Jeff Nielson.) Marc Faber: People With Assets Are All Doomed The News, the Spin, and the Reality of the FOMC Meeting No great surprise: Maryland, Virginia, D.C. escaped government spending cuts. (The D.C. Beltway’s deeply entrenched bureaucratic aristocracy rarely suffers.) Items from The Economatrix: Retirement Shortfall May Top $14 Trillion Peter Schiff:  Fed Is Trying To Ref late A Phony Economy Also from Peter Schiff:  “Vicious” Gold Rally Coming