Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
—
The hollow-point ban: New Jersey bans safe, effective ammunition. JWR’s Comments: The illogic of this legislation is stupendous. New Jersey is largely urbanized, with a high population density, overall. So why are they banning ammo with expanding bullets that rarely penetrate residential and business walls, in favor of FMJ bullets that can penetrate multiple walls? Give those legislators a Darwin Award!
o o o
Our friend Commander Zero of the venerable Notes From The Bunker blog reminded me of the LDS Safely Gathered In storage food recipe web page. The website hasn’t been updated since 2008, but the recipes are all proven and just about timeless.
o o o
St. Funogas sent this:
“There are two pertinent news items I’ve seen since I submitted the article, “Financial Preps for TEOTWAWKI.”:
DOGE’s first numbers sounded like good news when they announced on X last week, January 28th. The $1 billion per day they’re saving however is a goal, not a current event. Surprisingly, only 4-5% of Uncle Sam’s budget goes to pay salaries so hiring freezes and eliminating DEI departments won’t do much. If the contract buyout is taken up by 5-10% of employees as DOGE predicts, it will only save $23-$46 billion, not $100 billion. It’s important to see the math of their numbers.
Saving $2 trillion dollars per year to balance the budget will have to take a huge painful bite out of every single department. DOGE has already walked back their unrealistic goal from $2 trillion to $1 trillion. And as expected, nothing can happen without a lawsuit so before the horse was even out of the chute a judge stopped the hiring freeze, and Trump had to rescind his executive order freezing federal grants. And the unions have only barely started to howl. It’s going to be a tough row to hoe with more court challenges ahead.
After I submitted this article, David Stockman, Reagan’s OMB (Office of Management and Budget), published his new book How to Cut $2 Trillion and I got one hot off the press. I highly recommend it. There are lots of numbers so it’s not for everyone. He presents an excellent plan on how to balance the budget, while frequently reminding the reader it won’t be happening any time soon: “To be sure, even this relatively judicious mix [of cuts across the board] is sure to ignite firestorms on the banks of the Potomac like never before.” He should know, he and Reagan tried to make many of these same cuts. Even eliminating wasteful and wasteful agencies will leave them “screaming to high heaven in the swamplands of DC.”
Stockman’s plan to cut $2 trillion out of the budget is to completely eliminate 16 federal agencies such as the Dept of Education and FBI, reduce 9 others by 50% (i.e. IRS, EPA, NASA), and cut all other non-defense programs by 34%. Next, cut the defense budget in half. A full $1.1 trillion savings comes from reducing “entitlement” program dollars and restructuring every program from Social Security and Medicare, to student aid and “welfare.”
It’s clear to see why the federal budget can never be balanced, interest expense will continue to grow exponentially, and why we should all be making our own financial preparations.”
o o o
On Reddit: Winter Car Emergency Kit. (Don’t miss reading the follow-ups for some important add-on items.)
o o o
A new listing in Missouri at my son Jonathan’s SurvivalRealty site: 46 Acre Off Grid Homestead.
o o o
Reader Tim J. suggested this video: Top 20 Tips and Tricks to Avoid Electrocution! Beginners Please Watch.
o o o
Allied Van Lines: Where Are People Moving in 2025? A snippet:
“Currently, over a third of Americans say they’re considering a move this year. The ability to start over has always been a central feature of the American Dream, so it’s not surprising to find so many people thinking about relocating. Based on history, however, only 8-10 percent of us will actually follow through. The ones that do will probably choose one of these highly sought-after locations.”
o o o
WSJ: The Hottest Job in a World at War: Gun-for-Hire.
o o o
Lastly, just for fun: Watch this little dog impress…
Please Send Us Your Snippets!
Please send your snippet items for potential posting to JWR. or AVL. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.