Beware of Homeland Security Training for Local Law Enforcement, by An Insider

I’ve been in law enforcement for the past 18 years.  I have attended a variety of training over those years.  During the 1990s, most training I attended was community-oriented, sponsored by local agencies or private companies specializing in police training.  Themes common to training of the past included topics such as Constitutional rights, community partnerships, youth-oriented programs and problem-oriented policing. During the past several years, I have witnessed a dramatic shift in the focus of law enforcement training.  Law enforcement courses have moved away from a local community focus to a federally dominated model of complete social control.  Most training …


Letter Re: Advice of Eastern Oregon

Mr Rawles,   I am very glad to hear your facts, comments and Godly encouragement and read the many articles on your site regularly. Thank you for standing in the gap and for your ministry in general.   Would you help us understand your reasoning for recommending eastern Oregon? My husband and I have looked and looked at eastern Oregon to move to or at least buy a piece of land to relocate to in a G.O.O.D. “bad to worse” scenario. We currently are on the liberal side of the Cascades in Oregon because of my husband’s work. The problem …


Economics and Investing:

Food Inflation Kept Hidden in Tinier Bags. “As an expected increase in the cost of raw materials looms for late summer, consumers are beginning to encounter shrinking food packages.” (Thanks to C.D.V. for the link.) Yuri L. suggested this, over at Frugal Dad: Nine Ways to Prepare for Food Inflation Reader Tony B. sent this: No One Cries for Argentina Embracing 25% Inflation as Fernandez Leads Boom Wow That Was Fast! Libyan Rebels Have Already Established A New Central Bank Of Libya Items from The Economatrix: Gerald Celente & Lew Rockwell:  Gold, Guns and Getaway Plans   Salivating at the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Until midnight on March 31st, Lulu.com is offering a 20% off sale, for any product. That includes the 2005-2010 SurvivalBlog Archive CD-ROM! So if you’ve been delaying, here is your chance to save a couple of bucks. Order now! To get the 20% discount, enter coupon code “SPLISH305“, during checkout.    o o o M.E.W. suggested this from the left-of-center Mother Jones magazine: Survivalist GOP Rep.: You Should Probably Avoid Cities. (Republican congressman Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland shows off his preps.)    o o o Pierre M. sent this: The Bronx Zoo’s Statement About the Missing Cobra, with Sentences Reordered …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 33 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 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady …


Strategic Relocation in Australia, by The Former South Aussteyralian

I’ve had great difficulty figuring out how to approach writing this submission. Initial versions came out a bit prideful and preachy. In the end it’s usually best just to stick to the facts. So here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’ll let you interpret it yourself. Please note that this submission comes to you from Australia, so (as y’all say) “your own mileage may vary”. Furthermore, I understand that this is not a survival “silver bullet”. It is intended as a temporary solution for those of us doing the best we can with what we’ve got. Roughly 36 …


Musings From a Novice Gardener, by Mike in Western Pennsylvania

Last year I planted my first home garden in my adult life. I am 46 years old and grew up most of my years in suburban America so I had little experience with the nuts and bolts of a family garden but I did spend twenty years in the Marine Corps so I do have a level of self-sufficiency that I garnered over the past 20 years during my service in the Marines. I will also add that my Dad did a little family gardening in the 1960s and 1970s but by the 1980s we were a complete suburban family …


Precious Metals–When to Begin Reducing Your Holdings

I often get e-mails and letters from readers about precious metals, and most of them are wrong. Many of them were about silver: In 2001, when I formally called the bottom, for silver, I got taunting letters. Those naysayers claimed that silver was heading down further, perhaps to $3 per ounce. In 2005, I started getting whining “I missed the boat” letters. That was when the silver bull was still just a calf. People have continued whining, ever since. In 2008, when silver was $9.80 per ounce, I got my first “this is the top for silver” letter. I’m still …


Economics and Investing:

Do you remember my warnings about “creative” ways that legislators might find to solve budget crises? Brace yourselves. CBO: Taxing mileage a ‘practical option’ for revenue enhancement. (A hat tip to J.H.B. for the link.) My cousin in England sent this: Proof That Gold Is Not a Bubble Gonzalo Lira: How Likely is QE-Three? (Lira thinks either that there will soon be be either more monetization or seizure of IRAs and 401(k)s. G.G. flagged this: Morning Note: Gold Replacing Dollar as World’s Reserve Currency? Also from G.G.: Buffett Warns: The Dollar Will Decline Items from The Economatrix: Stocks Falter Despite …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Free city lots offered for modern-day homesteaders in the Midwest.    o o o K.A.F. flagged this: Nine Best Canned Foods. For what its worth, JWR‘s favorite, canned salmon, tops their list.    o o o Wow! I just noticed that the 1950s novel “Atlas Shrugged” just jumped to #130 in Amazon’s sales rankings. No doubt renewed interest (above and beyond its perennial following), is due to the upcoming release of the feature motion picture. (Appropriately, the release date is April 15th.)    o o o Shortages of scarce natural resources coming, warn chemists. (Thanks to C.D.V. for the link.)



Move to the Mountain States–The American Redoubt

(Note: This essay launched The American Redoubt movement. It was first posted in 2011. It was last updated on May 17, 2017) To begin, I recognize the fact that “all politics are local”. I also recognize the international readership of SurvivalBlog.  Therefore I de-emphasize politics in my blog. However, an article got my blood boiling: Motorists illegally detained at Florida tolls – for using large bills! So, not only are Federal Reserve Notes not redeemable “on demand” for specie, but effectively they are now no longer “…legal tender for all debts public and private.” It is often hard to pinpoint …


Four Letters Re: The Struggle for Meat After TEOTWAWKI

Dear Mr. Rawles, The picture provided by N.N.R. just doesn’t seem sustainable. He or she does realise that most Americans get whatever they want whenever they want it, and that this is a problem, but seems unwilling to do anything about it in his or her own family as a means of preparedness. Most of us – as preppers – should understand that our lifestyles are going to change in the scenarios we all talk about. As a society, we are far too focused on dietary meat as a right and necessity. We don’t need meat for every meal, every day, every week or …


Letter Re: Sailboats as Alternative Bugout Vehicles

Sir: In response to Richard O., he may not need to build his own boat for a bugout vehicle, although more power to him if he does. He could instead convert a work boat into a sailboat. Having grown up along the Carolina coast, I am familiar with a type of boat we just call a “shrimper” or trawler. The basic design should be familiar to anyone who saw the movie Forrest Gump. Older ones can easily found for relatively low cost, in the range of 54 to72 feet long. The forward wheel house models usually already having a galley, …