Odds ‘n Sods:

Bush to outline 5-year mortgage rate freeze plan. (Don’t miss the reader’s comments below the article.) My comments: Here comes the mega-meddling. Cui bono? And who will bear the cost? I suspect that it will be us, the taxpayers. If so, we will be bailing out someone else’s “I bought a house that I couldn’t afford at the top of the market, and now I can’t sell it” uncontrolled instant gratification and greed. How charming.    o o o In one of his recent DownRange.tv audio podcasts, host Michael Bane (well-known for his “Shooting Gallery” television show on The Outdoor …



Note from JWR:

We are pleased to welcome two new advertisers: Comprehensive Risk Solutions (CRS)–the Internet’s best identity theft protection service. Protect your assets by protecting your identity, They provide Credit Reports, Criminal Records, Non-Credit Loans, Public Records, and even reports of sex offenders in your neighborhood. CSIdentity will provide 24/7 monitoring of the reports and the Internet using CyberAgent technology to detect any online use of your identity, and alert you of changes. They also provide $25,000 identity theft insurance and full-service restoration assistance. Virtually everyone in America aside for a few Amish folks have online records that can be compromised. If …


Storm After-Action Report and More Thoughts on Western Washington as a Retreat Locale, by Countrytek

Introduction I’m a life-long Western Washington resident – except for five years in Kansas & two in Berlin while in the U.S. Army. I’m the great-grandchild of Washington pioneers. I love this state – the ocean, mountains and fertile valleys – but what it has become — not so much. This past weekend, (November 30 – December 1, 2007), the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state was hit by an arctic front from the Gulf of Alaska, dropping 3-6″ of snow in our area. The weather folks told us not to worry, that it wouldn’t last long, because we had a …


Letter Re: Centerfire Antennas December Sale Just for SurvivalBlog Readers

Hi Jim, I’m very impressed with the response to the ad I placed on your blog site [for Centerfire Antenna]. The SurvivalBlog customers have been some of the most polite folks we’ve ever dealt with. Looking through my web traffic statistics, most of those that have been referred through your blog have bookmarked our site. I’m giving SurvivalBlog readers a $5 per antenna discount during the month of December. They can use the PayPal buttons and $5 will be refunded to their PayPal account when their order is processed. Or they can choose to have the refund donated to SurvivalBlog. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

“The Other Jim R.” sent us this: Report: World food prices to rise    o o o Morgan Stanley’s warning: Credit crunch alert over UK economy. (A hat tip to RBS for sending us that link.)    o o o From The Financial Times: Car makers warn of tough times in US    o o o Paulson says mortgage plan to be ready this week. My comment: Freezing adjustable rate mortgages to their “teaser” rate levels will only make the housing crash last longer. Delaying the natural market readjustment will only make matters worse.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound …


Note from JWR:

Special thanks to “Jon Boy” from Atlanta, who said that he is sending us a four-year 10 Cent Challenge subscription payment ($36.50 x 4) in the form of $2 rolls of nickels. (73 rolls!) He certainly got his money’s worth by sending them in a $8.95 US Postal Service Flat Rate Box. (If the rolls had been sent at the normal “postage calculated by weight” Priority Mail rate, it probably would have cost more than $40 in postage!) For anyone thinking about doing likewise, be sure to do as Jon Boy did, and use plenty of padding and a second …


Letter Re: New Bump-Resistant Door Locks from Kwikset

Mr. Rawles, Kwikset lock company makes a “bump-pick” resistant lock [called the SmartKey]. The new locks appear to have a bar that attaches to each of the pins that interact with the key, so if one pin moves then they all have to move. Therefore all the pins have to be in the correct place at the exact same time and there is no “slop” that allows the pins to be “bumped” into place. If you get a chance next time you are around a Home Depot store they with have a display model for these new locks as they …


Letter Re: Using .22 Rimfire Conversions for Low Cost Pistol Practice

Jim: I have just finished firing 500 rounds through an Advantage Arms .22 conversion for my Glock 17 and Glock 22 While not as accurate as my .22 Ruger pistol, it allows me to practice my shooting skills using the same holster and magazine carriers at fraction of what 9mm and .40 cost. More importantly, by using a conversion rather than a different pistol such as the Ruger, I am developing the same muscle memory, skills, and techniques I will use when shooting my service pistol. I chose the Advantage Arms over the Ciener conversion because the slide locks open …


Letter Re: Thanks for SurvivalBlog!

Dear Mr. Rawles: I am a newly-minted reader and fan of SurvivalBlog. I stumbled upon [SurvivalBlog] by doing a web search on what turned out to be one of your “Quote of the Days” from [the late] Jeff Cooper. All that I can say is that I am mega-overwhelmed at what you and the readers have put on-line. I started out by going back through your current threads, and that seemed like a lot. But then I started clicking on the monthly archive links [in the right hand column] and then I started doing searched on particular topics. Wow! I …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I found this piece from Peter Schiff over at Gold-Eagle: The End Of Consumer Credit As We Know It    o o o It appears very likely that the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors will cut interest rates again at their upcoming meeting (Tuesday, December 11th). If it is a 50 basis point cut (or more), it could kick off another huge round of Dollar-dumping worldwide, and we might see the USD Index drop down into the 60s. Speaking of the Dollar’s continuing fall, RBS sent us this from The Economist: Losing faith in the greenback    o o o …



Note from JWR:

Today is the last day to take advantage of the 33% off sale price for the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course with accompanying audio CD. The course is only occasionally sale priced, so don’t miss out. Place your order online before midnight, or if sending a check or PMO be sure to get your order postmarked with today’s date.


Letter Re: Preparedness for Less Than a Worst Case, From an Eastern Urbanite’s Perspective

Hello Jim, I am very new reader of your blog and am just now starting to go through the archives. Based on what I’ve read so far, I commend you on putting together a useful, fact-intensive blog on “survivalism” (whatever that means), that isn’t geared towards loony, off-the-reservation, tinfoil hat-type readers, who believe that 9/11 was a plot masterminded by Halliburton. That said, one problem I suspect I will have with your blog is that you consistently seem to be preparing for an extreme, and more-or-less permanent, breakdown of society—or TEOTWAWKI, if you will. In one of your blog posts, …