Letter Re: Preparedness Wisdom from The Foxfire Book Series

Dear Jim, I just got my new (old) set of The Foxfire Books. I sat down and began to cruise through the pages of the first one. What a wealth of information! Then it happened. I turned over page 370 and there was a picture of Hillard Green. He is almost 80, (the book was published in 1972) and here is what it says, unbelievable: Excerpt from the facing page: “The last time we visited him, he was busy peeling tomatoes he had just gathered and scalded. He waved us in, put a fresh plug of tobacco in his cheek, …


Letter Re: The Real Threat is Deflation

Mr. Rawles, I greatly respect your advice and columns on most matters yet I continue to see people like yourself claiming we are facing an inflationary holocaust. People in the inflationary camp point to the size of the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) or the rate or printing as if that number alone meant something. You cannot take that number alone, sir, but must measure it against the value of assets that have been destroyed by the deflation going on around you. The total inflationary pulse from Europe, Japan, and the US thus far is approximately $7.5 trillion as best …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Memsahib is now “Happy McHappy” because her annual Murray McMurray poultry catalog just arrived. Along with the obligatory pile of seed catalogs, this annual event is one of the things that keeps our spirits up during the snowy winter months.    o o o Eric spotted these articles: Kansas wheat acres continue downward trend and, German bond auctions fail, and, Latvia is shaken by riots over its weak economy    o o o More gloomage, courtesy of Cheryl: Crude Tumbles Below $35 — Fears Grip Banking Sector as Barclay’s Cuts 2,100 More Jobs — FTSE 100 Joins Global Rout …



Notes from JWR:

Your last day to bid! The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $1,500. Get your bid in by midnight, eastern time, tonight. The auction is for a large mixed lot that includes: 1.) A large “be ready to barter” box of full-capacity gun magazines, from the JASBORR. This box includes: 12 – Used original Bundeswehr contract HK91 (G3) steel 20 round magazines, 6 – Used original FN of Belgium-made FN-FAL alloy 20 round magazines, 6 – Used AR-15/M16 USGI (a mix of Simmonds & Colt made) alloy 20 round magazines, and 2 – New and very …


Hurricane Lessons Learned and Some Advice on Getting Prepared, by Ken on the Gulf Coast

Sometimes it is not an option to relocate so you have to get prepared wherever you are located. I am located on the Gulf Coast 60 short miles from New Orleans, Louisiana. We were ground zero for Hurricane Katrina, so I have a first hand experience of what can happen I will describe some things that I did right and some things that I did wrong. We were unable to relocate to a place like Idaho as we had elderly parents who could not and probably would not relocate to a more appropriate survival area. My mother was born in …


Four Letters Re: The Thin Blue Line

JWR, [In his article “The Thin Blue Line”,] Deputy W. makes a very good observation about the tipping point when law enforcement retreats to protect their own families. This situation has occurred twice in recent history here in the U.S., during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992 and most recently in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina. I lived through the riots in L.A., as well as two earthquakes and would like to share some of what I learned from this experience. The fact I want to impress on SurvivalBlog readers is that they will …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric sent us this: Prices for rooftop solar systems fall as supply grows    o o o “OffGrid”, James S., and KAF were the first of more than 10 readers that flagged this: U.S. military report warns ‘sudden collapse’ of Mexico is possible. Speaking of emerging threats, Semperfiwife sent this Newsweek piece: Bob Graham talks about the possible nature and likelihood of a WMD terrorist attack over the next few years.    o o o From FloridaGuy: Detroit’s credit rating downgraded to junk bond status    o o o Nick sent this: The New Paranoia: Hedge-Funders Are Bullish on Gold, …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“What we as a nation have done recently is eat the seeds and kill off the game which is necessary to regenerate surplus in the future. We have consumed our future surplus. This is essentially why the Coming Depression will not end in 2009 or 2012–we as a nation have consumed our future surplus via stupendous deficits and the stupendous interest payments which must be paid out of future surpluses.” – Charles Hugh Smith


Note from JWR:

Just one day left! The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $1,500. The auction is for a large mixed lot that includes: 1.) A large “be ready to barter” box of full-capacity gun magazines, from the JASBORR. This box includes: 12 – Used original Bundeswehr contract HK91 (G3) steel 20 round magazines, 6 – Used original FN of Belgium-made FN-FAL alloy 20 round magazines, 6 – Used AR-15/M16 USGI (a mix of Simmonds & Colt made) alloy 20 round magazines, and 2 – New and very scarce original FN (Belgian-made) US M1/M2 Carbine blued steel 30 …


Inflation, Taxes, and Self-Sufficiency

I recently received an e-mail from T.F. in Utah, who quipped: “They tell us that inflation is now non-existent. Well, how many years of deflation will it take to get prices back to where they once were? It is noteworthy that the average annual property tax on a house on a city lot now exceeds the entire land purchase price and construction cost of a comparable square footage house, in 1890.” Inflation is indeed insidious. And its has implications that are far-reaching. For example, consider the following: Creeping tax increases one of the reasons that it is now nearly impossible …


Letter Re: Waste Vegetable Oil for Fuel in Diesel Engines

Sir, I purchased a 1982 Mercedes 240D diesel. These old diesels will all run on used cooking oil [also known as waste vegetable (WVO)]. I have run mine for more than a year on 100% used cooking oil with no modification other than a larger fuel filter. You do not have to spend hundreds of dollars for a large capacity diesel filter. I bought a large water filter at the hardware store for around $30. I use the wound rope or string insert that you can buy for less than $20 per pair. It works great for a fraction of …


Letter Re: New “Defiance” Resistance Warfare Movie

Hi; I have learned a great deal from your site and recommend it to my customers (I sell preparedness books). There is a movie being released on January 16th called Defiance. You can go to the movie web site to get a several minute long previews. This is a movie on the Polish Partisans, or resistance forces that fought against the Nazis in World War II. My dentist escaped from communist Poland and told me that her grandfather was a Partisan leader. I have done was research I could to learn about her grandfather and the resistance forces. Basically, as …


Letter Re: Red Dot Sight Battery Longevity

JWR, I have a red dot sight battery, lithium Energizer CR2032, which was stored in it’s original packaging in a refrigerator since May 1996, almost 13 years ago. I recently opened it and have been testing to see if it would still work, at present I have about 11 hours of use on it. I know this is anecdotal, but the point is, if you use red dot aiming devices and it uses one of these type batteries, it is probably worthwhile to store a good supply of batteries for long term use. Regards, – K. in Texas JWR Replies: …


Letter Re: Documentary Film Producer Seeking Interview Subjects

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers: I can’t thank you all enough for the numerous responses to my earlier posting. It’s a pleasure meeting you all and reading about your different approaches to survival and a preparedness mentality. I have been doing my best to respond to all of your emails, but wanted to let you know if you haven’t heard back from me directly, it is not due to a lack of interest, but more the logistics of responding to the volume! I have read through all of the emails that have come my way and encourage those who haven’t responded but …