Odds ‘n Sods:

Former senator spills beans on Hillary’s anti-gun strategy o o o Reader J.E. sent us this: Russian state newspapers predict ‘direct military conflict’ with US as it compares Syria stalemate to Cuban missile crisis o o o I spotted this item at Mac Slavo’s great SHTFplan.com news aggregation site:  Our Threat Comes From Within: “The Establishment Is Doing Everything It Can To Make Us Look Crazy” o o o Video: Wranglerstar’s family makes a batch of elderberry wine. o o o This article over at Skilled Survival is of interest: DIY Survival Gear: 11 Projects Worth Building


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The worship of the state is the worship of force. There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men. The worst evils which mankind ever had to endure were in?icted by bad governments. The state can be and has often been in the course of history the main source of mischief and disaster.” – Ludwig von Mises


Notes for Monday – October 17, 2016

On this day in 1835, Texans approve a resolution to create the Texas Rangers– a corps of armed and mounted lawmen designed to “range and guard the frontier between the Brazos and Trinity Rivers”. After winning their revolutionary war with Mexico the following year, Texans decided to keep the Rangers, both to defend against Indian and Mexican raiders and to serve as the principal law enforcement authority along the sparsely populated Texan frontier.


Recipe of the Week: Pork Tenderloin with Honey Butter, by M.C.A.

Ingredients: 4 tbs butter 2 tbs honey 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed of silver skin Salt and pepper 1/4 cup water Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a Dutch oven or ovenproof skillet, heat butter and honey over medium heat, stirring to melt butter. Season pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and place in pan. Cook until underside is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn pork, and cook until other side is browned, about 5 minutes more. Lower the heat if the honey begins to burn. Put pan in the oven, and roast until pork …


Letter Re: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a Retreat Locale

James, We lived along the northern shore of the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula  (UP),  in the Marquette area.  This was way back in the late 1960s. (We left in 1972.) We spent the last two years of that living in the middle of a fairly isolated 40 acre tract about half an hour drive (summer travel) from town. The great lakes, Superior in particular, have an enormous influence on the local climate. Varying by distance and prevailing winds, you tend to have cooler summer temps as well as slightly warmer winters.  The lakes effect precipitation, most noticeably snowfall, but cloud cover …


Economics and Investing:

The banksters’ Negative Interest Rate Policy (NIRP) appears to have quietly put the IMF’s analysts in a Modified Stationary Panic. See this August 2016 IMF white paper: Negative Interest Rate Policy (NIRP):Implications for Monetary Transmission and Bank Profitability in the Euro Area.  Buried in the report is this little zinger; “Early evidence suggests that the adverse impact of negative rates on bank profitability may increase non-linearly as the policy rate declines further.” We are headed for some interesting times, folks! The Deutsche Bank death spiral may be just the beginning of a full-blown, widespread debt crisis contagion. o o o …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Daisy Luther warns: Eight Alarming Warning Signs That Indicate War With Russia Could Be Imminent o o o John Whitehead at The Rutherford Institute:  The Imperial President’s Toolbox of Terror: A Dictatorship Waiting to Happen o o o Five Awesome Car Life Hacks


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I heard my country calling, away across the sea. Across the waste of waters, she calls and calls to me. Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head, And around her feet are lying the dying and the dead; I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns; I haste to thee, my mother, a son among thy sons. I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,


Notes for Sunday – October 16, 2016

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig (in 1813). This was largest battle in European warfare prior to WWI. In this battle, Napoleon’s forces were defeated by the combined forces of Prussia, Austria, and Russia. This is also the anniversary of abolitionist John Brown’s raid against the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt and destroy the institution of slavery. Although the raid failed, it inflamed sectional tensions and raised the stakes for the 1860 presidential election. Brown’s raid helped make any further accommodation between North and …


Letter Re: Hurricane Matthew–Some Lessons Learned

JWR & HJL: That was another great article [on Hurricane Matthew]! A suggested alternative that I have adopted is buying a turbo diesel automobile and truck.  The benefits are simple and yet many people still have not discovered the option. Here are a few:My VW tdi as an example gets about 43 miles per gallon, so with a 15 gallon fuel tank it achieves about 600 miles plus on a  tank, and by adding three NATO style 5 gal metal cans (15 gallons total) in the trunk I have a 1,200 hundred mile cruising range. That is hard to beat. …


Economics and Investing:

We were already tipped off long ago about gold in a world of negative interest rates.  Now consider Ray Dalio’s Long-Term Debt Cycle Charts (over at Barry Ritholtz’s The Big Picture.) o o o From Mr. Econocobas: Deutsche Bank Considers Thousands More Job Cuts: Source – Keep watching this. I fully believe that they don’t want this to happen and will do everything they can to help paper it over. But if Deutsche goes down then  it will make Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers seem like just a walk in the park.  It is noteworthy that Deutsche has some of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

One of my phone consulting clients recently asked about a recommendation for a low power (QRP) high frequency (HF) AM and FM single-sideband (SSB) capable transceiver.  I suggested one of the most popular ones. It is the Yaesu FT-817ND.  It runs on 12 volts DC and is VERY compact!  (They are even used for backpacking, as seen in this video.) They are ideal for voice, CW/Morse, and digital work, and cover the Amateur 160 through 10 Meter bands, 50 MHz, 144-148 MHz (the 2 Meter band), 430-450 MHz, as well as the Alaska Emergency Channel at 5167.5 kHz.  When sending …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” – Matthew 24:21-24 (KJV)



Letter: Advice on How Hedge with Foreign Currencies

Mr. Rawles, You recently mentioned that you had bought some Swiss Francs, as a hedge. Back 15 years ago, I knew that the Yuan–the Communist Chinese Currency–was being held at about 1/4 (or less) of it’s real value.  I wanted to trade some US currency  into it, but couldn’t figure out ho, short of flying there and filling up a suitcase. I think many of your readers would like to know how to do currency trading. Today, I’d like to buy some British Pounds as I think the UK exiting the EU [the recent “Brexit”] will only make England’s currency …