In Defense of the Fortress Mentality–and Architecture

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I recently got an irate letter from an outspoken Peak Oil commentator who often stresses “community agriculture” and “sustainable development.” He castigated me for “advocating a fortress mentality…” and “encouraging gun-buying…” I think that he meant those as insults, but I took them as compliments. I am indeed an advocate of the fortress mentality, and fortress architecture. The two go hand-in-hand. As I pointed out in my book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”, modern American architecture with flimsy doors and large expanses of windows is just a 70 year aberration from a global …


Letter Re: Archery Equipment for Those Living in Gun-Deprived Locales

Hey James, I just got into SurvivalBlog after reading “Patriots” and “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” in consecutive nights.  I have checked out  a lot of posts on many helpful topics so far.  I wanted to post a question on the blog if possible, or simply ask you.  What is the viability of using crossbows in the survival situations we are all talking about?  I am also interested in compound bows as well.  I live in a country where I cannot legally own firearms, though the mafia here do, but I can legally …


Letter Re: An Alabama Snowstorm

James Wesley: It is beginning to snow in Alabama.  In small towns all around, the grocery stores have been stripped down to the shelves.  People were buying food to cook in fear that they might not make it to the grocery stores when they need to.  Milk is all but gone.    I went to the grocery store Sunday morning to pick-up a few doughnuts for our Sunday school class.  I saw one of my wife’s friends on the junk food aisle.  She is a single mom of two.  She said, “I have $40 to buy groceries to get us …


Letter Re: Storing Fats and Oils

Dear Editor: There are many in the medical field who will dispute Dave the R.N.’s assertions in his recent post on fats and oils. A recommendation that is more in line with the mainstream thinking is to store 3 liters (three quarts or approximately 90 ounces) of oils or fats for each person-month of preps. The assumption is that everyday life will become intensely physical and a per-person calorie budget of 2,500 Calories (or more!) will be required.  Three liters of oil will provide 30-35% of calories-from-fat which is consistent with mainstream wisdom.  Other stored foods and supplementation with produced …


Economics and Investing:

Richard Duncan: A Catastrophic Global Economic Breakdown May Be Unavoidable! Reader P.D. sent an article that is surprising to see from a mainstream media outlet like Reuters: Economists foretell of U.S. decline, China’s ascension Over at The Daily Bell: Peter Schiff on Why the American Economy Is Broken – and What to Do About It SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson mentioned this article at The Atlantic: How The Recession Changed Us. JWR Adds: Their use of simplistic “sand pile” graphs is disingenuous. They make the recession look like a discrete post facto event. It isn’t! Traditional linear or …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Terry D. sent a link to a fascinating interactive map, based on U.S. Census Bureau data. Terry suggested using this to your data set, when judging retreat locales.    o o o My old friend Fred the Valmet-meister sent a link to a great web page: Farming in the 1920s.    o o o California’s mail order ammunition ban and fingerprinting for face to face buyers goes into effect on February 1st. One more nail in the coffin for the Citizens of a once-free state.    o o o Honey laundering: The sour side of nature’s golden sweetener. (Thanks to …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“What people did not realize was that war had started.  By 1 p.m., a few minutes after Molotov’s speech, queues, especially in the food stores, began to grow.  The women shoppers in the gastronoms or grocery stores started to buy indiscriminately – canned goods (which Russians do not like very much), butter, sugar, lard, flour, groats, sausage, matches, salt.  In twenty years of Soviet power Leningraders had learned by bitter experience what to expect in time of crisis.  They rushed to the stores to buy what they could.  They gave preference to foods which would keep.  But they were not …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will 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 Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge …


365 Meals: What to Do With All That Dehydrated Food, by Kory M.

It all started while reading Survivalblog. In an article about providing charity during a pandemic and not getting sick, Jim talked about putting food out where others could get it and then retreating to keep a safe distance between you and other people to keep your family from getting infected. While reading this article, I had an epiphany. Instead of handing out some rice, wheat, oats or a can of spam, I could concoct a “meal”, a Home-Made Meal (Almost) Ready to Eat (HMMARE?).  My first HMMARE idea was to dump 1 cup of rice, a chicken bouillon cube, ¼ …


Practical Christianity for TEOTWAWKI, by J.A.G.

I suspect many today might think that the words ‘practical’ and ‘Christianity’ don’t seem to fit in the same sentence. In many minds, practical is what one does Monday through Saturday to get ready for hard times on earth, having to do with nuts and bolts and clothes and food and fuel and power and…well…things. Christianity seems to be what one does on Sunday, in a church. That may be the version of spiritual life that has emerged in our nation’s culture over the years, but it is certainly not the version of life the founder of Christianity had in …


The Twisted World of Jared Lee Loughner

The tragic news on Saturday of the shooting of a congresswoman and a Federal judge in Arizona was quite troubling. (At last report, six dead and 13 wounded.) Chief Judge John Roll of the U.S. District Court for Arizona was killed and Representative Gabrielle Giffords was badly injured but is expected to recover. Who is the suspect? Jared Lee Loughner, age 22. His YouTube channel makes him appear to be a certifiable flag-burning lunatic, and possibly a mind control subject. His list of favorite books included: “Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Wizard Of OZ, Aesop Fables, The Odyssey, Alice …


Economics and Investing:

T.&.P. sent this item: Legislation proposes Utah adopt a gold-based system. Similar legislation has been introduced in several other states. Blame the U.S. Mint for Lack of Silver, Don’t Blame Customers (Thanks to Alec N. for the link.) Reader M.E. sent this: Seven Reasons Food Shortages Will Become a Global Crisis Richard S. recommended this piece at the Economania blog: UK Preppers. Siggy like this one: America’s 10 worst years start right now Items from The Economatrix: Regulators Close Florida Bank; 1st For The Year   Slow Growth In Jobs Shows Challenge Ahead    Bernanke:  4-5 Years To Reach Normal …


Odds ‘n Sods:

For anyone who is grumbling about the cancellation of the BBC television series Survivors, there is now a petition to get Season 3 reinstated.    o o o Another reason for OPSEC: Cop Slain for gun collection. (A hat tip to David N. in Tennessee.)    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent a useful article with relevance to EMP protection: Bonding and Grounding C4SIR Facilities.    o o o I recently got a lengthy heartfelt letter from a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) employee that I’ll quote just briefly: “The number one lesson I have …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“1) David Berkowitz, Ted Bundy, Richard Speck… 2) what about them? 1) Serial killers. Serial killers only have two names. You ever notice that? But lone gunmen assassins, they always have three names. John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, Mark David Chapman… 2) John Hinckley. He shot Reagan. He only has two names. 1) Yeah, but he only just shot Reagan. Reagan didn’t die. If Reagan had died, I’m pretty sure we probably would all know what John Hinckley’s middle name was.” – Mel Gibson, in the movie Conspiracy Theory. (Screenplay by Brian Helgeland)


Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will 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 Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge …