The First Question is Always Jurisdiction

14

Earlier this month, I posted an article about the ATF’s recently-opened comment period on the planned Federal ban on bumpfire stocks. In it, I recommended that SurvivalBlog readers post their comments with the ATF, and I suggested several major areas that should be individually addressed: Constitutional issues (Under the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 14th Amendments!) Imprecise Terminology Agency Over-Reach (creating new legal definitions, bypassing congress) Vague Wording Technical and Historical Inaccuracies These were all sound recommendations. However, SurvivalBlog Reader Richard T. reminded me that I had left out a fundamental law issue in my list of …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

17

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

20

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on investing in odd silver coins.  (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.) Stocks: The tumble in the U.S. stock markets (down 10% since January 26, 2018) is partly attributable to the business cycle, and partly attributable to the Fed raising interest …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

2

“Never mind, we can do without them. But if we get out of here, you must send a message to Gibbs, the Hall Porter at Claridge’s in London, telling him on no account to allow the servants in the hotel to touch some dangerous medicines in my bathroom.” – OSS Director William J. Donovan, June 7, 1944, on Utah Beach, upon realizing that he left his cyanide pills behind, before the D-Day invasion


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

8

“Contemplate the entire ‘bump stock’ thing folks.  These were sold as legal accessories for years.  Millions of dollars changed hands for them, people were employed and now they’re in the hands of individuals.  A formal legal ruling was issued by the BATFE that these were legal accessories; the manufacturers and buyers didn’t assume, they asked for and obtained a written declaration that these devices not only complied with the law they didn’t require any sort of labeling, serialization or other form of control (such as a background check) as legally they were nothing more than a piece of plastic. The government is, of course, entitled to be wrong and repair that error which is …


The Slippery Slope: Proposed ATF Rule Redefining “Machinegun”

The ATF recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on bumpfire stocks, redefining them as “machineguns.”  This NPRM is worse than I had anticipated  This is in part because the new rule has no Grandfather Clause. By the ATF’s own estimates there are more than 350,000 American bumpfire stocks (worth about $96 million) already in circulation. The proposed rule would declare these all contraband unregistered machineguns, with no compensation to their owners, and no method provided to pay the $200 tax to register them. (Because of the FOPA Hughes Amendment machinegun freeze of 1986.) Therefore, owners would be required …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

6

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on currency scams.  (See the Forex section.) Forex (Currency Scams): In recent months I’ve had several SurvivalBlog readers contact me to mention “investing” in Iraqi Dinars (IQD).  Spurred on by the Internet rumor mill, they are hoping for a huge return on investment, in the event …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

11

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on storage organization. (See the Gear section.) Books: The much-awaited new book by Claire Wolfe and Kit Perez titled Basics of Resistance will be released (appropriately) on April 19th. As of April 4th, 2018, the print-on-demand paperback edition is now available for ordering on Amazon.com. There will also be a Kindle book, now available at a special pre-order price of just 99 cents. The Kindle release day will be April 19th. I predict that this book will be …



SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

3

Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on the Rajneesh Movement of the 1980s, headquartered near Antelope, Oregon. (See the Eastern Oregon section.) Idaho At The Wall Street Journal: Why Pay in Idaho Is Rising at the Fastest Rate in the Nation o o o SurvivalBlog readers may not be aware that the same family that owns Naturally Cozy (one of our long time writing …



Economics & Investing For Preppers

3

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on investing in M1 Garand rifles. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.) Precious Metals: The Gold-Silver Ratio Is Not ‘Subject To Any Kind Of Cap’ — ICBC.   JWR’s Comment:  Spot silver is now almost laughably low versus other tangibles. I’m actively …



Proposing a U.S. Sovereign Cryptocurrency and Free Trade Zone

9

In February 2018, there was a small news item that didn’t get near the attention that is deserved. It described how The Marshall Islands–formerly  a U.S. Territory, but now an independent sovereign nation–plans to launch it own cryptocurrency, called the SOV and use it as legal tender. This will be the world’s second sovereign cryptocurrency.  (Venezuela has announced pre-sale of a national crypto that is backed by oil. But the Marshall Islands SOV is a much more legitmate venture.) Sovereign Cryptocurrency For any sovereign nation to release a legitimate sovereign cryptocurrency and give it legal tender status is huge news–even if …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

16

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …