Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“A person can be a partisan or a survivalist, but not both. The survivalist defends himself, his people and his redoubt against all comers. It’s not just his right, it’s his duty. He may have standing patrols or mount a rescue operation, or do a preemptive strike against bad guys advancing on his community, or even take control of a strategic hilltop. He may make arrangements with other survivalists for mutual aid, much like volunteer fire departments do. All this is defensive. What he will not do is join with others in wholesale annihilation merely to expand turf. Legitimate defense …


Letter Re: The Late Ron Hood and Prostate Check-Ups

Jim, My wife just read aloud your touching tribute to the late Ron Hood.   I feel that Ron’s death was a needless loss to the survival community and his family.   If men have their PSA checked annually, there’s no reason this disease should sneak up on them.   I was diagnosed with prostate cancer five years ago when I was 60.   Instead of surgery, which can leave one impotent and/or incontinent, I chose proton therapy at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, as did my father-in-law.   My current PSA is 0.22. Thank You, God!   …


Notes from JWR:

Safecastle (one of our advertisers since 2005) is having a one-day, 25%-off sale on Mountain House cans on Thursday, June 23rd. These canned foods are in stock and ready to ship–while supplies last. It’s their first such sale of 2011, after Mountain House’s well-publicized production/backorder issues through the first half of the year. — Today we present another entry for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 …


The Easy Storage Survival Harvest, by Minnesota Rose

I have tracked down, purchased, and read over 25 books this past winter, all having to do with gardening, food storage, and food processing.  My goal was to come away from many long winter nights soaking and reading in my claw foot tub with more than wrinkled toes.  My agenda was simple: I wanted these new, used, and out of print gems to provide instruction and inspiration in formulating a plan to grow as much of my family’s food as possible as soon as the snow finally melted—and then put the harvest in storage.  As I soaked in the hot …


Pen Names and SurvivalBlog Forums

Two of the most frequent questions that I get from SurvivalBlog readers are why I assign pen names to writers even when not asked to do so, and why I don’t have an official SurvivalBlog forum. I’ll explain both: Pen Names I assign a nom de plume to protect your identity. This is standard practice with my blog, especially with controversial topics.  Please pick your own pen names that are unique. I suggest that you use random pen names each time that you send something to post that is controversial. Also, be advised that if you pick something common (like …


Letter Re: TOR and the Onion Networks

The Onion Routing (TOR or Tor) project is one of the best ways to stay anonymous on the web. The project was initially funded by the Navy, but over a few years evolved into a non-profit organization. The goal of the TOR project is twofold: to allow for the anonymous browsing of the internet, and to allow people to connect to the .onion network. This is a basic illustration of how it works is this. Lets say every internet site you visit is a store front in a basic town. You go in and out of stores in the daylight. …


Economics and Investing:

You might not have noticed that the US Dollar Index has been falling recently. (At 74.77, the last time I checked.) Hmmmm… With all the turmoil with the EU periphery, common sense would dictate that the US Dollar should be appreciating rapidly versus the Euro. But it isn’t. So what is the real story, behind the news? I suspect that the US Dollar is in for some very deep trouble in the next few months. Steven M. sent this from Zero Hedge: After Dumping 30% of its Treasury Holdings in Half a Year, Russia Warns it Will Continue Selling US …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader J.L. has very kindly expanded my “List of Lists” spreadsheet. It is now available for free download. (Note that this spreadsheet and the information contained therein are for your personal, non-commercial use only–not for re-posting or re-publishing in any from. This is copyrighted material. All rights reserved.)    o o o In the past 24 hours, I’ve heard from several AOL users who have mentioned that they’ve been unable to access SurvivalBlog. The problem is with AOL site, not at our server. Please try re-launching your browser and/or re-starting your computer.  If that doesn’t work, then try using either …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"There is no crime more infamous than the violation of truth. It is apparent that men can be social beings no longer than they believe each other. When speech is employed only as the vehicle of falsehood, every man must disunite himself from others, inhabit his own cave and seek prey only for himself." – Dr. Samuel Johnson


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo , and …


The Art of Getting Home, by Shattered

So you have successfully prepped for every possible SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation, your house is completely off grid, you’ve stockpiled enough chow to feed you and everyone you know for three full years and you have amassed a huge arsenal of assault weapons and ammunition that is sufficient to put even your toddler in tactical gear, body armor and small arms for the next ten years of sustained combat operations. Everything should be good to go right? So you’re sitting at work in your suit and tie and TEOTWAWKI just pops off, maybe it’s a rain of ICBMs hitting major …


Letter Re: Protecting Your Assets With an LLC

James, One of your SurvivalBlog Glossary entries deserves some comment. A Limited Liability Company (LLC) gives you as much or more protection from liability as a corporation, but passes profit through to your personal taxes like a 1099 independent or a subchapter S corp.  However, unlike a corporation, once you file your ‘Articles of Organization,’  in most states your LLC has no more paperwork requirements some states require an annual status report, but it is solely for informational purposes and has nothing to do with the IRS or other government agencies except to notify the IRS how you choose to …


Economics and Investing:

Ron Paul: Federal Reserve’s Addiction. (Thanks to C.D.V. for the link.) Sue C. sent us this: Greek Default Would Spell ‘Havoc’ for Banks. KAF flagged this: Russia to Lower U.S. Debt Holdings John T. recommended this analysis by Martin W. Armstrong: Greece: Its Time to Default Before Civil War Breaks Out Items from The Economatrix: Gold And Silver Still Great Investments in Inflation, Stagflation, And Deflation The Systematic Financial Pillaging of the Middle Class Unemployment Falls in Fewer than Half US States


Odds ‘n Sods:

For folks interested in using the new Bitcoin digital currency, check out the free information and graphics at: BitcoinResource.com    o o o Steven M. sent us this: Home Security – The four levels of home fortification    o o o Apparently a minnow trap is a very effective trap for snakes as well!  (Thanks to M.E. for the link.)    o o o I heard that there are still a few copies of the limited autographed edition of Mike Williamson’s upcoming novel “Rogue” available.  (As a reservation, in advance of publication.) Readers will either need to contact Uncle Hugo’s …