Letter Re: Greenspan, Gold, and the Safe Store of Value

Dear Mr. Rawles, Regarding the use of gold as a store of value, it’s important to realize that gold often functions as a fiat currency. It does have intrinsic value for jewelry, electronics, rust-proofing, and some chemistry applications but the vast majority of its value comes from the shared expectation that people will accept it as being valuable in the future. The only difference from fiat dollars is that it’s harder – but not impossible – to increase or decrease the gold monetary supply, and that supply isn’t controlled by any government. In a disaster situation things get even worse, …


From #1 Son: Proposed Expansion of Designated Wilderness Areas a Cause for Concern

The House of Representatives is currently considering H.R. 1975, the “Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act.” This is of interest to survivalists because it will be converting a huge amount of public land into “designated wilderness areas.” The affected land currently has roads and is open to public use. However, if the wilderness area expansion passes then public access use will be severely restricted. Many of you own or would like property with forest service land adjoining or nearby. With the act, all roads will be blocked off or removed, and hunting and wood cutting will be illegal. You will even …


Odds ‘n Sods:

As noted at NewsMax.com: Al-Qaeda’s American Recruit Releases Something Entirely New   o o o The “Where’s he Fence?” anti-illegal immigrant amnesty campaign picks up speed. Meanwhile, the immigration bill (including an amnesty provision) is stalled in the Senate. Could they be feeling the heat and seeing the light?    o o o A Canadian Member of Front Sight Purchases 100 Lifetime Memberships for Deserving US Marines



Notes from JWR:

Wow! We’re about to surpass the 1.5 million unique visits mark. Thanks for making SurvivalBlog such a huge success. Your SurvivalBlog graphic links (at your web sites and in e-mail footers) are helping tremendously. The high bid is still at $350 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a selection of 17 survival and preparedness books. The auction ends on June 15th.


Letter Re: What if I Can’t Leave WTSHTF?

Mr. Rawles: I have been reading your blog for some time. I have found it quiet interesting and informative. I’m a former combat vet and security professional for most of the 1990s. I moved back to North Carolina and started a company. I was raised by parents and grandparents that were survivalist long before the term became popular. I have made extensive preparations for the upcoming events that will befall the United States . I read the [blog] site and I think about us folks that do live in the east, a lot will be in a sad shape. I …


Letter Re: Greenspan, Gold, and the Safe Store of Value

James, While I am sure that this has been covered here before, it demands review. I was searching for information on a “safe store of value” and I came across the following. On or about 1966, Alan Greenspan wrote a lucid note entitled, “Gold and Economic Freedom.” Greenspan’s essay ends with, “This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists’ tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in …


Three Letters Re: Surplus Interceptor Body Armor (IBA)

James, I noticed the letter you posted about the man who bought his interceptor armor from eBay. Much of the Interceptor [Body] Armor on the market is stolen property. Many times it was stolen through supply [channels] and that is one of the reasons so many troops had to buy their own. On many of the tactical forums you have to be able to produce proof that you bought the interceptor armor legally. The interceptor armor itself is outdated. It is very heavy and bulky. Dragonskin is also not available to civilians. You have to have a end user certificate …


Odds ‘n Sods:

“Yabba-dabba-do!” Hawaiian K. forwarded us a link about some transportation improvisation in Prague. (The intact bark makes me think that this was a prank rather than an economy measure.)   o o o Simon in England sent us this gem from the British press: a serving soldier (Private Christopher Trussler) has been charged with the illegal possession and sale of ammunition in late May. The private’s arrest followed “a three-month investigation.” His arrest followed an operation into the sale of 9mm ammunition in the Chichester area of West Sussex. The Metropolitan Police said the move followed a “proactive intelligence-led investigation …



Note from JWR:

Two issues seem to cause the most lively debate in the SurvivalBlog: climate change and Peak Oil. (On the latter, see the following letters.) There are brilliant minds that that support both sides of these issues. I am a gratified to see that SurvivalBlog readers can debate these topics rationally, without resorting to name calling. The bottom line for you, dear reader: Regardless of where you stand on these issues, be prepared. Even if they turn out to be overblown non-issues, there is no guarantee that government over-reaction might cause just as many problems as the “crises” themselves. And if …


Three Letters Re: Some Good May Come From High Gas Prices

JWR, Again, Michael Williamson brings a bit of fresh air in his letter regarding gas prices. It’s called the free market pricing mechanism and when allowed to operate it would solve most human problems in the most efficient manner. Regards, K Dear Jim, There is a huge difference between reserves (total resource) and the amount of the resource that can be produced each year (production flow rate per unit of time). Both Canada and Venezuela have large reserves of tar sands. However, the annual production of tar sands is limited by production constraints and has a low (but positive) energy …


Forwarded Letter Re: Jericho Shall Return!

The following letter from a CBS executive comes by way of Rourke (Moderator of Yahoo’s Jericho Discussion Group): To the Fans of Jericho: Wow! Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series. You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard. As a result, CBS has ordered seven episodes of “Jericho” for mid-season next year. In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more “Jericho,” we will need more viewers. A loyal and passionate community …