Letter Re: A Simpleton’s Guide To Preps: The Best And The Overrated

HJL, I enjoyed reading A Simpleton’s Guide To Preps: The Best And The Overrated, by B.H. He (she?) gave some excellent arguments against gold, generators, batteries – in one type of situation, but life is never that simple. The thing about crisis is we don’t get to choose what it looks like. It might be the lawless TEOTWAWKI they are describing. It might equally be a totalitarian jackbooted police state with severe deflation. It might be global thermonuclear war, or it might just be a national economic malaise, such as what Fernando FerFAL Aguirre went through in Argentina, 2001. In …


Economics and Investing:

U.S. Gold Holdings Close to Zero-Rob Kirby. – G.G. o o o Items from The Economatrix: Richard Russell – This Will Shock The West & World Leaders First Quarter Canadian Maple Leaf Sales Up A Hefty 24% 20 Big Box Retailers Take Major Losses In First Quarter Has The Next Recession Already Begun For America’s Middle Class?


Odds ‘n Sods:

Inside the Ring: Memo outlines Obama’s plan to use the military against citizens – B.B. o o o When looking at retreat locations, a SurvivalBlog reader suggested using this tool: The Criminal States of America o o o After reading Patriots, Survivors, Founders, and Expatriates, I found it hard to imagine some of the improvised equipment. This is it in real life. I know this article is kinda dated, but a picture is worth a thousand words and there are a lot of pictures here. – DSB o o o A false report to get even with this innocent man …



Notes for Thursday – May 29, 2014:

Today we present another entry for Round 52 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ 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), 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, Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value), A $300 gift …


Moving Females in SHTF Scenario, by C.B.

The topic I want to discuss might seem pretty obvious to some of you and not so obvious to others. This article is going to discuss the transporting and safety of tactically untrained female members of your group. I’ve been a prepper for a number of years now, and I really haven’t ever seen anything on bugging out to a retreat or anywhere for that matter with untrained females in a SHTF scenario. First, let me give you some background on myself; it might help to establish some credibility with some of you. I have served in the U.S. military, …


Letter Re: Lessons Learned

This article is not be representative of many insurance policies. I am a insurance agent. First, I am sorry they had to go through such a horrible tragedy. People need to remember insurance policies vary from state to state and policy to policy. For the policies that I manage, these are the issues that are different: First auto policies are not replacement cost. They are blue book value (aka NADA), less your deductible. You could very well end up upside down, meaning you could still be paying payments on a destroyed vehicle, where you owe more than it’s worth. The …


Letter: Cashing Out a 401k

Dear Mr. Latimer, I would value your opinion on the following. I currently have three separate 401k accounts (5K, 40K, and 8K). I have not rolled them into one account because I thought it would be safer to have them spread out. I have this idea that, despite penalties, it would be better to cash them in to apply to my mortgage to pay it down or get a smaller home and have no mortgage by using these funds. My reasoning is that we will have a crash similar to 2008 soon (7 year cycles). I feel that I would …


Economics and Investing:

The Size Of The Derivatives Bubble Hanging Over The Global Economy Hits A Record High – H.L. o o o Items from The Economatrix: Here’s The Real Reason Why Gold Is Sliding To A New Low This Gave Durable-Goods Data A Big Boost Top CEOs Get 400% Raises, But For You … 2.9% Gas Prices May Fall Soon Consumer-Confidence Rise Masks Housing Caution


Odds ‘n Sods:

Are Americans Ready For A Revolution?. – H.L. o o o This is an incredibly disturbing revelation: The (Non)Finality of Supreme Court Opinions. – PLC o o o Is Operation Choke Point a harbinger of big-government activism to come? Operation Choke Point a harbinger of big-government activism to come?. – G.P. o o o Chicago mayor pushes plan requiring all gun sales to be videotaped. – T.J. o o o Candidate for Fla. Governor Gets Self Arrested to Fight REAL ID. – J.W.



Notes for Wednesday – May 28, 2014:

Today we present another entry for Round 52 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ 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), 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, Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value), A $300 gift …


Total Loss Disaster and Lessons Learned, by R2

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We experienced a total loss fire in January of 2014. All life, minus a few fish, made it out okay. Praise God! This story is a summation of lessons learned regarding insurance, rebuild/replacement options, storage preps, fire-proof safe survival, OPSEC, and much more. I hope you can learn and make adjustments based on this experience. We had a three story colonial home with brick front, vinyl siding, and an asphalt roof. We poured a concrete foundation with a walk out basement, and we had a well, septic system, propane heat, and electric air conditioning and appliances. Our OPSEC was compromised. …


Letter Re: Grain Mills

Hugh, The author expressed little concern for his WonderMill’s tendency to heat the flour it milled, on the grounds that the flour was about to go into an oven anyway. This logic certainly makes sense; however, heated flour can be a problem in some cases. We once had a mill, whose brand I’ve forgotten, that heated its flour quite a bit. We make a fair bit of sourdough, and our starter quite noticeably failed to thrive when fed flour from this mill. Of course we let the flour cool before feeding, so latent heat wouldn’t kill the starter outright, but …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Memorial Day

I just read your thoughts regarding Memorial Day. I’ve had the opportunity to live in both a very large megaplex city area (the LA/Orange/Riverside County area) and a very small town about half way between Sacramento and the Lake Tahoe area. I’ve noticed a major difference of behavior in the two areas regarding Memorial Day. Even in the area I lived in “down south” in south Orange County (a somewhat conservative area amidst other, more liberal areas), Memorial Day was seen far more as “a day off,” with little thought generally given to thoughts about the sacrifices of our veterans. …