Month: September 2013

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Right now, the FOMC has ‘a tiger by its tail’ – it has lost control of monetary policy.  The Fed can’t stop buying assets because interest rates will rise and choke the recovery.  In short, today’s decision not to taper was driven by unimpressive economic data, the fear of a 3% yield on the 10 year Treasury and gridlock in Washington.  If the economy cannot handle a 3% yield on the 10 year, then the S&P 500 should not be north of 1700.  It is remarkable that the equity market continued to buy into easy money over economic growth.  QE3 …


Note from JWR:

There are now just eight days until the release of my novel Expatriates. Please wait until the release day to place your order. That way you will get the best possible price, and we might see the book up in Amazon.com’s Top 20.


Pat’s Product Review: CRKT Parasaw

Every now and then I run across one of those, “Gee, why didn’t I think of that…” products – and kick myself for not thinking of it. Anyone who has been around knives at all, probably know who Ken Onion is. He’s not only a very talented custom knife maker, but he has collaborated on a number of different knife designs, with various knife companies. I once did an article about Ken Onion, and one of his designs for Knives Illustrated magazine, when I was the West Cost Field Editor. Ken and I had a great talk on the phone …


Jim’s Product Review: Brad Thor Alpha Jacket

Most SurvivalBlog readers have heard of Brad Thor. He is a contemporary novelist who is a master of the techno-thriller genre. Several of his books have become bestsellers, and one of them reached #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Brad recently teamed up with the clothing maker Scottevest, to design a quite versatile concealment jacket that they call the Alpha Jacket. Brad arranged to have them send me one of these for test and evaluation. When the jacket arrived I was impressed from the start. The only disappointment was seeing “Made in China” on the tag. Like so …


Letter Re: Natural Gas Powered Generators in a Disaster–Their Compressors, and Yours

James, Thanks for the information you deliver every day. I have recently gone on Social Security Disability and have some money to further our preps. My wife and I will hunker down in place, that being said, we have done what we can to make this as easy as possible. We can heat our home without electricity, but still need a solution for limited electric needs in the event of power outage. We are looking at the Honda EU2000i portable generator with the multi-fuel upgrade. In our years here we have never lost our natural gas supply, but have often …


Recipe of the Week:

Venison Pork Sausage Porcupines (from Mama in Texas) We hunt each deer season, and make our own seasoned ground sausage.  This is a great make-ahead recipe for busy evenings.  This also freezes well.   Our 3 year old son loves helping me make these, but enjoys eating them even more! 2 lbs ground venison pork sausage (seasoned) 1 cup water 1 cup white rice uncooked 1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce 4 tsp Worcestershire sauce   Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9×13 dish and one smaller dish as well. Combine meat, rice, and water in a large bowl.  Mix …


Economics and Investing:

Travis Brown of How Money Walks On Fox Business: Is It Worth Moving To Another State To Save On Taxes? Brown says that taxpayers worth $2 Trillion have already moved. Note that $45 billion in net worth has moved out of California, primarily to Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The interactive web app at Brown’s site is fascinating. Speaking of voting with our feet, see the report: Location Matters, published by the Tax Foundation. Michael Noonan of Edge Trader Plus: Gold And Silver – Fed Taper? Never! Never, Never, Ever The U.S. Economy Is Close To Imploding X22 Report: …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Until October 15th, the SurvivalBlog 2005-2012 Archive DVD is sale priced at just $11.99.    o o o Winston Churchill once famously said: “History is written by the victors.” But I’ve noticed an exception to that rule: The history of Rhodesia’s Bush War. In this case, the victors were a gang of largely illiterate, communist (and quasi-communist) nincompoops who very quickly wrecked and looted the nation. Since the end of the war and the establishment of Comrade Mugabe’s Proletarian People’s Paradise there have been at least a dozen books published about the Bush War by former Rhodesians, but just handful …



Notes from JWR:

September 22nd in the birthday of the late Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Reid-Daly (born 1928, died August 9, 2010) who founded and commanded the Rhodesian Selous Scouts. His history of the Selous Scouts, titled Pamwe Chete, is a fascinating to read but very hard-to-find book. I’d also like to wish a happy birthday to J.M. — 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 …


Airsoft: Effective Firearm and Tactical Training for Adults and Children, by So Ed

To many people, Airsoft is just a toy gun that annoying 12-year olds spray at each other with plastic pellets in the back yard.  But to the military and creative survivalists, it’s a training tool that saves lives. The Japanese invented Airsoft in the 1990s and militaries worldwide soon discovered that the inexpensive, safe Airsoft guns are a realistic method for training tactical movement, magazine change drills, building clearing, and much more. What is Airsoft? There are a myriad of different types and styles of Airsoft guns, but the common attractive feature is that they are modeled in size and …


Letter Re: My View on Self Defense for Women

James, Thanks to Sheri for pointing out several fallacies regarding women fighting men who mean them harm, specifically, that a punch/knee/whatever to the groin will incapacitate the man. She’s correct (or her male advisers are): It won’t. Hollywood says it works, but in fact it has the opposite effect of enraging the male further. I am a male, and I know. I learned how to fight after being kicked in the crotch in junior high. I am not a martial arts instructor, but I have taught several women how to defend themselves. I have been a bouncer at large bars …


Economics and Investing:

James W. recommended: Derivatives, The Gift That Keeps On Taking. [JWR’s Comment: I’ve been warning my readers about derivatives since 2006. That was two years before derivatives CDOs torpedoed the real estate market and triggered a recoveryless recession with bailouts that have doubled the national debt and tripled our money supply. Ironically, the magical smokescreen “solution” to the ongoing recession (actually just a forestalled Depression) has been Quantitative Easing, which creates $85 billion per month out of thin air, mostly by means of buying up Mortgage Backed Securities (MBSes), which are derivatives!] The Never-Ending Charade Of Debt Ceiling Fights Items …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Frequent contributors B.B. and H.L. both sent this: US Gun Owners: Felon or Free    o o o Missing the point about Alexis: How Can Red Flags Be Missed Like Navy Shooter’s? This article claims that the security clearance system has failed. But what was not mentioned is that the gunman only held a Secret clearance. That clearance level only requires a National Agency Check (NAC) and a local records check. So anyone that has never been arrested usually qualifies for a Secret clearance. You don’t get the right answers if you ask the wrong questions.    o o o …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, …