Notes for Wednesday – April 13, 2016

April 13, 1743 is the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. (He died on July 4, 1826, just a few hours before the death of John Adams. How patriotic of both of them to pass away on the Fourth of July.) o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 64 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite …




Lessons Of Real Life Bug-Out Circa 1944, by Grazu44

As long as I can remember, my father was prepared for the unexpected. I thought it was because he purchased a series of unreliable Chrysler products in the 70’s and 80’s that consistently broke down. (MOPAR– the name of Chrysler’s Parts Division– became an acronym in our house for “Moments Of Power Are Rare”). The fact of the matter was that my father “bugged out” of his native Lithuania with his family at the age of 14. Following World War II, he and his family were placed in a Displaced Persons (DP) camp for native Lithuanians in what would become …




Letter Re: How to Survive Workplace Violence

Dear Hugh, I would like to thank SM for useful comments that we should all think about in this day and age. I’ve actually been putting more thought into the subject of “workplace violence”, including the dreaded “active shooter” scenario, because my employer has recently implemented mandatory training for dealing with this event as well as a drill or two. Though the risk of such a tragedy remains low, it would seem that my employer feels that the risk is significant enough to justify the expense of such training. Though they would seem gravely concerned about our well-being, it is …




Economics and Investing:

Why Obama is forgiving the student loans of nearly 400,000 people – G.G. o o o The education and employment myth: Almost two-thirds of people in the labor force do not have a college degree. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News US Government Banking Program Facilitates Remittances to Mexico (Judicial Watch) Excerpt: “The program is called “Directo a Mexico” (Direct to Mexico) and the Federal Reserve, the government agency that serves as the nation’s central bank, launched it nearly a decade ago.” The Salary Needed to Buy a Home in 27 Different US Cities (Visual Capitalist) Excerpt: …




JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Reader S.T. writes in to recommend The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz (The Lyons Press; 1997). It’s about seven men who escaped a Russian labor camp after WWII and walked more than a thousand miles to freedom in British India, a journey on foot through some of the most inhospitable conditions on Earth. It was made into a movie a few years ago with the title something like “The Way Home”. I highly recommend the book over the movie. o o o Reader S.B. suggested Red Sky in Mourning: A True Story …




Odds ‘n Sods:

APPROPRIATE THIS! The Social Justice Warriors – the first warriors to faint at the sight of a penknife – have a new weapon to show off their unearned moral superiority: CULTURAL APPROPRIATION, where mainstream culture steals from minorities without being “authentic.” Surprisingly Bill Whittle agrees with this and has a list of grievances all his own. Link sent in by B.B. o o o Learning what not to do at a gun range by example – video: Don’t do this! o o o Can’t afford a Berkey? DIY Ceramic Water Filter Kits, Revisited – Sent in by DMS o o …