Letter Re: Has Family Preparedness in the U.S. Declined Since 9/11/01?

Dear Mr. Rawles, I first learned of your blog site through a New York Times article that ran back in April. Since then, I have spent a lot of time on your excellent site, and have followed many of your suggestions. I think the best you’ve made so far is that people read the book “Boston’s Gun Bible“. Mine is now a well thumbed rag doll, but the amount of knowledge contained within is impressive. My larder and defensive cache are coming along nicely. I want to point out another New York Times article to you: Are You Ready for …


Two Letters Re: Some Transceiver Antenna Questions

Jim, A few pieces of additional information about antennas: Quarter wave antennas are traditionally used for portable radios as they match the radio’s output impedance of 50 Ohms. By matching this impedance with an antenna of 50 Ohms you get maximum energy transfer. A 1/2 wavelength long antenna (twice as long as a 1/4 wave) has an impedance of several thousand Ohms and is not a suitable radiator unless you add some sort of impedance matching between the radio or the antenna. This can be in the form of a coil and capacitor or an antenna tuner. One advantage a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Jesse and Eric both sent us this link to a WorldNetDaily article: Congress warned: U.S. risks ‘catastrophe’ in EMP attack. Eric asks: “Is your vehicle EMP safe? Do you have spare solid state bits stored in a Faraday Cage that is properly grounded? If you don’t then you could find yourself walking or pedaling. “    o o o The folks at CGW (one of our loyal advertisers) just launched a new updated web site, with more than 300 new products added to their already large inventory of gun parts, optics, knives, and tactical field gear. Some of the new …



Note from JWR:

There are just four days left in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction. The high bid is now at $370. This auction is for two cases (12 cans) of Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans donated by Ready Made Resources, valued at $260, a course certificate for a four-day Bushcraft & Survival Course valued at $550, 25 pounds of green (un-roasted) Colombian Supremo coffee courtesy of www.cmebrew.com valued at $88.75, and a set of 1,600 U.S. Military Manuals, Government Manuals, and Civil Defense Manuals, Firearm Manuals on two CD-ROM disks, valued at $20. Please e-mail us your bids soon, …


Surviving an Age of Greed and Envy–Criminal Looters and Looters Under Color of Law

Several SurvivalBlog readers recently sent me a link to an article that ran in Britain’s The Independent newspaper: Britain declares war on food waste. So it seems that The Powers That Be have figured out a way to ration food under a novel pretense–the wastefulness of bulk packaging. (I guess they’ve never heard of freezers, dehydrators, and vacuum packing machines. We hardly waste a morsel, here at the ranch. The subtle subtext to this new “war on waste” article ties in to the Fabian Socialist mindset that is so pervasive in England. (And sadly, here in America, as well.) They …


Letter Re: Learning from the Price of Canned Tuna

Hi Jim, A while back on the blog you had a letter from a reader regarding the price increases that are coming down the pike (pun intended) for tuna. I was in a Wal-Mart the other day, and it looks like those increases are coming sooner rather than later. Two weeks ago, I purchased a bunch of Wal-Mart house brand tuna packed in oil, 6 ounce cans, for $0.53 per can. Yesterday, I was in Wal-Mart again, and the same product is now $0.74 per can. That is a price increase of 39% in a fortnight! I’m happy to say …


Real Estate Market Update for Northwestern Montana, by Viola Moss

We have, just in the past six months, transitioned from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market in northwestern Montana. Much of this is due to the impact of stricter bank mortgage lending requirements. Many [previously commonplace ] investors and types of loans are now nowhere to be seen. I heard just this week that the lenders are requiring the appraisers to go back only two months (instead of six months) for comparatives. This is nearly impossible with the sales spiraling downward. This is quite a reversal from just two years ago, when we didn’t have comps because the prices …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Charles V. recommended this editorial by Craig R. Smith, the CEO of Swiss America: In the eye of an economic storm    o o o Readers Jerry S., OSOM, Korey, Nick, and Rob A. all sent us this: The Fannie and Freddie doomsday scenario–It’s time to wonder what would happen if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed. Here is a telling quote: “‘If Fannie or Freddie failed, it would be far worse than the fall of [investment bank] Bear Stearns,’ says Sean Egan, head of credit ratings firm Egan Jones. ‘It could throw the economy into depression or something close …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“We are thus in the position of having to borrow from Europe to defend Europe, of having to borrow from China and Japan to defend Chinese and Japanese access to [Persian] Gulf oil, and of having to borrow from Arab emirs, sultans and monarchs to make Iraq safe for democracy. We borrow from the nations we defend so that we may continue to defend them. To question this is an unpardonable heresy called ‘isolationism’.” – Patrick J. Buchanan


Note from JWR:

Special thanks to Bruce C., a US Air Force officer that kindly volunteered some if his spare time to re-edit the SurvivalBlog Glossary. He helped flesh out a number of entries, and made some corrections, particularly for some radio and aviation terms. Gracias!


Two Letters Re: Amassing Copper Pennies–By the Ton!

Dear Jim: I enjoy and appreciate your site. I am concerned about the gentlemen [TRK, who stated in a recently-posted e-mail that he is] amassing tons of copper pennies. I understand his desire to hedge against inflation, but it seems risky to do so with a $60,000 investment in copper pennies. I didn’t want to see your readers get wiped out by following his bad advice. Let’s remember, you can’t fill your belly with pennies, nor can you bandage your wounds with them. While pennies are certainly tangible, preparedness is all about useful tangibles. Beans, bullets, Band-Aids. Preparedness is first …


Two Letters Re: The Mil-Spec AR-15 Makers–Parts Chart

I imagine you are going to get a lot of e-mails stating the chart [posted on an Internet Forum] that you cited is inaccurate. At least in the case of the all-factory Bushmaster, I own I can say there were at least a couple of missing “X”‘s [in the chart]. Likewise, I question who exactly was the metallurgist who placed a “1” in the barrel steel column. Also, Bushmaster has a lifetime warranty. It’s right on their web site and I can assure you they honor it. When I had a parts breakage issue after thousands of rounds put through …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Readers Josh W. and John M. both sent us this article link: Black Box Warning for Antibiotic    o o o Eric found this: As food costs soar, it’s back to basics for meal planners. Eric’s comment: “What a wonderful chance for folks to start learning about eating their food storage foods and saving money! I think about my friends who have hundreds of pounds of red winter wheat put up and no idea what to do with it – they have no [grain] mill and don’t eat whole wheat bread or whole wheat anything. As someone who has been …