Day: January 20, 2014

Notes from JWR:

The Managing Editor position at SurvivalBlog has been tentatively filled. My sincere thanks to the more than 50 people who sent resumes. There were a lot of wonderful candidates, but only a couple of them met all of our experience requirements. — I have a very trustworthy friend who is looking for a live-in caretaker or house-sitter position at a retreat in northern California. (Preferably anywhere between Tuolumne County and Shasta County.) He is a conscientious non-smoking single man in his 50s. Please e-mail me if you presently have an opening for a caretaker or house-sitter position in that region. …


Pat’s Product Review – SurvivAMINO Protein Tablets

When I’m out hunting, and a lot of hunting in my neck of the woods is via logging roads that you drive on, or out for a hike, I like to have a little something to munch on. Quite often, I’ll take some beef jerky or granola bars, as well as high-protein bars. It’s just a good pick-me-up to have something to eat – instead of running home, when I’m a little hungry. Only problem I have with beef jerky is that, while it is quite tasty, it promotes thirst – a lot of thirst. Granola bars and high-protein bars …


Pat’s Product Review: Glock 27 .40 S&W Pistol

Many years ago, when I worked for the late Col. Rex Applegate. We worked with Paladin Press, on the very first video they produced, titled “Manstoppers.” In this video a large selection of semiauto handguns were tested and fired by Tom Campbell, who at one time was Smith and Wesson’s top shooter. I acted as range officer and a consultant on the video, that was shot at the old Applegate pioneer homestead outside of Yoncolla, Oregon. For this video, Col. Applegate obtained a prototype Glock 23 handgun, and we were all impressed with it, albeit there were many malfunctions, due …


Guest Article: EMP Myths and FAQs, by Joel Ho

Q: Do Faraday Cages need grounding? A: No. A Faraday cage designed against EMP, if properly constructed, will keep any charge outside the shield. The shield interior is separate, so anything inside, even though it touches the inside of the shield, is safe. However – if the cage is improperly made and there are wide holes in the mesh exceeding the size of wavelength to be blocked, grounding could help. As an example, this Youtube video link is of EMP testing my company has done with another firm’s professional EMP simulator. You can see a shielded laptop on the left …


Guest Article: Fire and Ice: Inflation and Deflation, by G.E. Christenson

Fractional reserve banking and central banking began their reign of destruction upon our financial world a few centuries ago. Politician’s greed and need for control over people have been ever present. Their mutual interests created an unholy union from which were born two progeny. Call them Fire and Ice. Call them Inflation and Deflation. This is their story – simplified and sanitized. FRACTIONAL reserve banking allowed banks to loan out considerably more currency than was received from depositors – this increased the supply of currency in circulation. If demand for currency did not increase proportionally, then each currency unit was …


Letter: Shopping for Storage Foods at COSTCO

Dear Jim, I just returned from COSTCO on big “stock up” trip for my retreat. (My family retreat/cabin is 155 miles away, and COSTCO is less than 20 miles away from my house.) Aside for maybe driving over 300 miles to Salt Lake City to buy from one of the big storage food companies, is there any better way to stock up, without my UPS driver knowing [what I’m getting]? Am I missing something, or is COSTCO the way to go? Thanks, – L.D.M. JWR Replies: As I mentioned in the Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course, shopping at Big …


Two Letters Re: Route Security

Route Security by Chuck S. was a good article, but I would add a few things:   –          Newer cars will have daylight running lights and some basic tools may be needed to disable them for real covert night travel. –          If you can afford them, and practice using them, NVGs are great for covert night travel. –          Relying on Fuel en route is a gamble. Ideally, carry the fuel you need to get to your destination. For that, you should have a fuel supply stored and rotated. Use proper storage containers and procedures for safety. Use fuel stabilizer to …


Recipe of the Week

Kathy H.’ s One Pot Stuffed Pepper Stew: 1 lb. burger 1 small onion, chopped  3 bell peppers cut into 1″ pieces (I like all different colors) 1 T. olive oil 1. In 5 qt. Dutch Oven. Saute all above ingredients until meat is browned about 5 min. Do not drain meat.    1 c. rice (I used Mahatma Jasmine) 1 1/2 c. beef broth 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (don’t drain) 1 tsp. seasonings of your choice.  basil, oregano, etc.   2.  Add rice, broth, tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Cook rice …


Economics and Investing:

CNBC’s Rick Santelli tells Obama he can’t redistribute wealth if there is no wealth The biggest export from America? The middle class. The tradeoff for cheap goods and financial cronyism is coming back in a big way. Items from The Economatrix: The Level Of Economic Freedom In The United States Is At An All-Time Low When A Dollar Store Is Too Expensive: Growing Class Of Poor Americans Unable To Afford Items At Dollar Stores. Disabled Veterans Get Back Pension Raises


Odds ‘n Sods:

Here is yet another great post from preparedness bloggers Frank and Fern: Baby Chicken Wrap Up.    o o o Reader D.C. suggested a fine essay over at Sipsey Street Irregulars: The Firearms and Ammunition of “Alas, Babylon”    o o o I’ve heard from several readers about the relatively new Remington Model 770 rifles, as a low-cost alternative to the better-known Model 700. These use 6-groove button-rifled barrels. Model 770 rifles can be found new and factory equipped with a 3-9×40 variable scope for less than $375, or less than $500 in the more weather-resistant stainless steel variant with …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The Progressives, as Marxists like to call themselves, have had it pretty much their way for a hundred years now. Wilson’s era brought us the Federal Reserve and the IRS, and took state representation away from the Senate. Franklin Roosevelt’s era brought us the welfare state, “rule by commerce clause”, big unions and the military-industrial alliance. Since then we’ve seen the War On Poverty, which we lost, the War On Drugs—or Prohibition II which we’re also losing in the same way we lost Prohibition I, a debt-backed dollar and a huge, ever more coercive and entrenched government with an unhealthy …