Day: August 9, 2013

Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of James Paris Lee (born 1831, died February 24, 1904.) He was a Scottish-Canadian and later American inventor and arms designer, best known for inventing the bolt action that led to the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield series of rifles. — Today we present another entry for Round 48 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 …


Am I Crazy?, by Crazy As A Fox

I am a Vice President o a very successful company in the western side of the Midwest.  I am in my early 60s, and after 30 plus years with the company – I will retire in next year or so with no debt, a good retirement plan, stable lifestyle – no worries, right?  So, why do some of those around me think I’m crazy (even me sometimes)?  Here’s my story.   I grew up a farm boy working the family farm with my grandma and grandpa, old school Swede – German homesteaders – milking cows, slopping hogs, baling hay, walking beans, driving tractors, gathering eggs, and yes, shoveling S#%*.  Small rural …


Letter Re: Privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Sir, It occurs to me that the sudden desire to “privatize” Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is simply a way to deploy the wet ink dollars out of the Fed and big banks without overwhelming the money supply. We all know what would happen if those dollars entered the mainstream market place. This just seems to me to be yet another ploy to stall the inevitable, but I haven’t seen anyone else talking about that. Am I missing something? – Big Jon JWR Replies: You are essentially correct. The majority of the U.S. Dollars that have been magically created by …


Letter Re: In-House Storage Lockers or Cabinets?

Captain Rawles, I have a question about military wall lockers. I have searched high and low trying to locate some military wall lockers for gear storage but have been unable to find any as you mentioned in your novel “Patriots”. I was just wondering if you had any ideas where I might be able to find some. Thanks for any help you can give me in this area or any alternatives you can suggest.  Thanks, – Tony from Texas  JWR Replies: Any large steel lockers or cabinets with solid backs and tight-fitting doors will do.  The crucial thing for storing your …


Economics and Investing:

Why we can kiss the US economy goodbye (Wayne Allyn Root) Our friend Tam (over at the great View From The Porch blog) wittily refers to this movie as “Occupy L5”: ‘Elysium’ director Neill Blomkamp, star Matt Damon deny movie has political agenda No Great Surprise Department: U.S. Congress wins relief on Obamacare health plan subsidies. (Congress almost always exempts themselves from their socialist schemes.) Items from The Economatrix: Chain Reaction of Breakdowns in Progress–Dr. Jim Willie Gold Markets Get Strange – Is Economic Danger Near? Job Market Faces New Problem, Hitting One Unlucky Group Really Hard


Odds ‘n Sods:

“How could anyone possibly need more than a 10 round magazine?” Well, for instance: Alaska man kills charging bear with assault rifle    o o o Scarcity inspires creative “reinvention” and “technological disobedience”: Cuba’s DIY Inventions from 30 Years of Isolation. (Thanks to M.R. in Kansas for the link.)    o o o Sun Will Flip Its Magnetic Field Soon. (We are at solar maximum, but it is a relatively weak maximum, for this 11-year cycle But the big Carrington-size flares can happen, regardless.)    o o o H7N9 bird flu in likely China spread between people, researchers find. (Of …