Year: 2014

Economics and Investing:

L.H. in Colorado sent: State Fiscal Condition: Ranking the 50 States. (Yet again, the American Redoubt region ranks favorable.) The debt levels of some states, such as Texas, are astounding, and any future defaults in times of economic depression could be devastating. From G.G.: Puerto Rico Default “Likely”, FT Reports Items from The Economatrix: Gold And Silver – There Are Reasons Greater Than Demand For Owning Them U.S. Bled To Death By China And Harvested For Its Organs-Dr. Jim Willie Why Is Goldman Sachs Warning That The Stock Market Could Decline By 10 Percent Or More?


Odds ‘n Sods:

The New York Times reports: N.S.A. Devises Radio Pathway Into Computers. Of course they claim that this isn’t being done domestically, but based on other recent revelations, I have some strong doubts. In fact I’m now persuaded that the dialogue of Edward Lyle (Gene Hackman’s character in Enemy Of The State) was more prescient than paranoid.    o o o I heard about Flags and Poles by Lee. This a family owned and operated business in Texas. They are worthy of your business.    o o o My friend Fred The Valmetmeister recommended this eight minute video: M39 Mosin Nagant & …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 50 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $9,700+ worth of 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.) …


Route Security, by Chuck S.

Much has been written regarding bug-out bags, vehicle choice and maintenance, weaponry and retreat locations but the one issue missing is how you are going to get there. There are numerous issues to consider in selecting your primary and alternate routes to your bug-out location and hopefully the following will assist in your route selection and maintaining security en route. Route selection can depend on numerous decision points such as fuel locations, traffic load, choke points and law enforcement roadblocks / checkpoints.  Do the highway entry / exit points already have gates on them to close them off during inclement …


Letter Re: How To Use Your IRA /401k to Fund a Survival Retreat Property

Sir, I have a question in regards to the reply article on turning one’s IRA or 401(k) into a survival retreat property.  Any ideas on how it would play out with one’s survival retreat that is in their IRA or 401(k) if/when the government confiscates retirement accounts or forces one to turn their retirement accounts into a government retirement account like what was recently done in Poland and other countries? Would the person lose their home/farm or be forced to sell it? Would the government get control of it? I’m curious because we have a fairly decent amount of money …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Mike P. suggested this well-reasoned 12 minute video by Josie The Outlaw on America’s Groupthink indoctrination institutions: A Prison By Any Other Name. Other than her advocacy of “Unschooling”, it is a great video. (Homeschooling has a superlative track record, by comparison.)    o o o S&K sent this from Hackaday: Build a Tape Measure VHF Yagi Antenna    o o o I heard about a quite clever new product that is made in Sonora, California (up in the Sierra Nevada mountains): Siege Stoves. The video on their home page explains it best. These stoves are 100% made in USA.    …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 50 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $9,700+ worth of 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.) …


How to Travel as a Prepper When You are a Road Warrior, by S.S.

I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and remember spending many afternoons in the basement due to tornado warnings and watches. Several times a year, we saw homes across town destroyed by the tornados. Seeing homes destroyed up close as an eight year old made an impression. After our first winter blizzard, Mom started prepping and established a corner in the basement with our food stuffs, books, toys, radio, flashlight, water and a mattress for us to sleep on.   About two years ago, I gave up on living in the suburbs and moved 20 miles away in a rural area …


Letter Re: Experiences With A Gamo Whisper Air Rifle

JWR, I began looking into purchasing 1,000 fps air rifles after muskrats dug a huge pit in my front yard and a few other places.  As I’m inside the city limits, there is a “no shooting” ordinance (air and BB included), except during duck season, where land owners may hunt ducks as long as they’re shooting out over the water, and not causing other problems other than noise.   Around my house, the above ordinance is very loosely adhered to, as there’s water on two sides, and plenty of room to shoot air guns.  I always control the starling and …


Letter Re: Cybersecurity: A Systemvault Primer

Dear Editor, It’s nice that you published an article about system and data security. People need to be aware. Overconfidence in encrypted communications however is a disaster waiting to happen. The author wrote: “Another benefit of the way Linux deals with encryption is that any information that is read or written is directly transferred between RAM and the container: any piece of information that exists outside of the computer’s memory is always encrypted.” This is flawed logic as demonstrated by recent attacks on target and other retail giants. RAM scraping is actually pretty old news. I also heartily disagree with …


Economics and Investing:

I told you so… Is America ready for a brown nickel? Note that if there is a distinct color change, then Gresham’s Law will kick in even more quickly, driving the old cupronickel Nickels out of circulation in less than two years. I should mention that one statement in the article is incorrect: “In 1965, rising silver prices forced the Mint to switch the nickel, dime and quarter to a mostly copper composition.” The nickel DID NOT change composition starting in 1965. It has been 75% copper and 25% nickel ever since 1945. (The nickels minted with some silver were …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader R.B.S. suggested this handy tool for finding cellular phone coverage–or avoiding it: Antenna Search.    o o o F.J. spotted yet another useful piece at Instructables: Mukluks for Christmas    o o o Former Mayor Noramine Jasmin will soon go on trial, on corruption charges. Once again, another one of Mayor Bloomberg’s “crime fighting” anti-gun mayors may be headed to The Big House. Meanwhile, we read of another gun-grabbing mayor with an apparent oral fixation: Ex-Marcus Hook mayor sentenced to 10-20 months. Note that with this felony conviction he can no longer own a firearm for the rest of …