Letter Re: Shoot or Don’t Shoot–Moral Implications of the Split-Second Decision to Take a Life

Hello, That was a good submission by Jeff R.! Here are some things I thought I would mention from personal experience: I work as a Pharmacist in Philadelphia and was involved in an attempted armed robbery, six years ago. Two armed men came in the store early that morning attempting to obtain narcotics. I was able to see them early enough that they didn’t get the drop on me. (Situational awareness!) The man in front had a .44 Magnum revolver with the hammer cocked. He announced “Get the f*** down, this is a stickup!” as he walked at me. I …


Economics and Investing:

GG recommend this three-part YouTube video: Hyperinflation Nation Greg C. spotted this item from New Zealand: $190,000 withdrawn in $20 bills; Irate bank customer hits back From GG: Poll: Americans lacking in emergency funds Items from The Economatrix: Retail Industry Braces for Shopping Center Collapse California Hotels Flood the Market Biden, Oh Biden! (The Mogambo Guru) Toyota Said to Plan to Shut California Car Plant on First Ever Closure Gary North: The Coming Great Government Debt Default TARP Watchdogs Criticize Treasury Over Transparency Minimum Wage Hike Could Threaten Low Earners’ Jobs CalPERS, Teachers’ Retirement Loses Almost $100 Billion Guaranty’s Collapse …


Odds ‘n Sods:

EMB spotted this article which features two of our advertisers: Six Safe, Strong—and Chic—Bomb Shelters You Can Buy Now    o o o Pro-Gun Amendment Rejected. This legislation had so much common sense that it was no surprise that Chuck Schumer hated it.    o o o [Urban] Survival School


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 23 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried foods, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $350. Third Prize: A copy of …


Controlling Pain Where There is No Doctor, by Bill R.

Some of you are probably asking yourself what this has to with Survivalism. Pain is our brain’s way of letting us know that something is not right. You touch a hot stove and it warns you to pull away. With any number of things that can set off TEOTWAWKI,  The result will be the same. Traumatic, stressful, pick your favorite term; it’s all the same. Increased stress levels in the body create tension. We have all heard the term ”your psychology affects your physiology”, nothing could be more true. I think it is an excellent idea to go through practice …


Letter Re: Power Failure Alarms

James; I need your advice. I am worried about power failures, and even EMP while I’m sleeping. This could take out my security system, and leave my family vulnerable. Is there any sort of device that’ll alert me if the power goes out? Thanks, – Nolan S. JWR Replies: There are fairly inexpensive commercially-made plug-in power failure alarms available via mail order for under $15. (Or under $20 each at larger home improvement stores.) I recommend buying one for each bedroom, and one for your generator house. (The 86 dB alarm is not loud enough to be heard from far …


Economics and Investing:

Frequent content contributor Kevin A recommended this piece by Doug Casey: Street Fighting Man. It has some observations that sound a lot like what you’ve read in SurvivalBlog, such as: “I’ve long believed that this depression would not only be much different but much worse than the unpleasantness of the ’30s and ’40s. In those days, only a few people were involved in the financial markets; now almost anyone with any assets at all is a player. In those days, there were no credit cards, consumer debts, or student loans; now those things are ubiquitous. It’s true that nobody will …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Simon J. recommended this Gizmag article: SCORE Project seeks funding to roll out Bio-Mass Stove in developing countries    o o o El Niño Threatens Food Shortages    o o o ATF To Montana: You Will Respect Our Authority! And here’s a related article: Washington drops hammer on state gun plan    o o o John S. spotted this useful blog: Couponing in Critical Times



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 23 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried foods, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $350. Third Prize: A copy of …


Shoot or Don’t Shoot–Moral Implications of the Split-Second Decision to Take a Life, by Jeff R.

It doesn’t have to be TEOTWAWKI for a person to be faced with the choice of shoot or don’t shoot. Everyday in the United States a police officer somewhere makes that choice (sometimes they choose “don’t shoot”). All too often, average Joe or Jane Citizen must make that choice. Hopefully dear reader, that day will never come for you, but if it does, here are a few things to help you not hesitate when necessity requires that you pull the trigger, and to help you live with the consequences. Decide now that you will shoot another person if it becomes …


Letter Re: The Quasi-Reality Television Show “The Colony”

James, Last night was the first episode of a survival reality show on The Discovery Channel, ‘The Colony’, It is a 10-week experiment illustrating how 10 people cope with life after a biological wipe-out. They started with the first six participants being sleep deprived for 30 hours, then “raiding” a department store for whatever they can find before engaging in an eight mile walk through the Los Angeles River [–now a concrete aqueduct, which is dry most of each year–] to find an abandoned factory marked “Sanctuary”. The show did illustrate how most of us who are unprepared will fail …


Letter Re: Some Crucial Readiness: Preparing for Joy

Sir, I enjoyed the article about “Preparing for Joy”. The Christmas after Hurricane Ivan hit Pensacola [Florida, in 2004] was depressing and sad. My family and street was in a gloomy state that almost nothing could get us out of. About a week before Christmas I got off my butt and spent my last $40 on outside Christmas lights. It was kind of a funny sight, seeing the lights on the damaged house. But do you know what? The next day lights started popping up all down the street. People who never put lights up were putting them up. Even …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Swine Flu Rages On at US Coast Guard Academy US Public Health Agencies to Set Up Mass Swine Flu Vaccinations US Warns Seasonal Flu Vaccine Will Not Protect Against Swine Flu Reader H.H. sent these two flu news items: Swine flu cases double as 100,000 people contract disease in just one week U.S. has bought 195 million doses of H1N1 vaccine