Notes for Friday – October 2, 2015

SurvivalBlog readers on the East Coast are doubtless already making preparations for the expected double whammy of a nor’easter and Hurricane Joaquin. Meteorologists are expecting “a historic” 10 to 15 inches of rain in only 72 hours perhaps between Georgia and Virginia. Batten down the hatches! You are in our prayers, folks. o o o Today we welcome our newest advertiser, Tom Henthorn, CPA, of Somers, Montana. (That is deep in The American Redoubt, up at the top end of Flathead Lake, not far from Glacier National Park.) He has taken up the small advertising spot that was formerly occupied …


Letter: What You “Learn” Can Kill You

HJL, My name is Mark and I’m a Prepper. Sounds faintly like how you’d introduce yourself at an AA meeting, but even though I’m afflicted by the Prepping bug it’s not a disease like most of America would want you to think. Most of my family years ago were farmers and poor backwoods people. So prepping was the only way to survive the harsh winters after the short growing seasons. I fell into it easily being raised to hunt and raise a garden. When the last administration was installed in 2009 I saw what was happening. And being former military, …


Economics and Investing:

Why US Rates Can Never Rise: In 1 Awkward Chart o o o The Mises Institute Podcast interviews Bill Bonner o o o At The Blaze: You Might Have Gotten a New Credit Card With a New Chip Embedded in the Front — Here’s What You Need to Know About It Items from The Economics Team: UBS Is About To Blow The Cover On A Massive Gold-Rigging Scandal Swiss Regulator Names Seven Banks in Precious Metals Probe Understand and Prevent Identity Theft


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Jon C. spotted this news story from Omaha, Nebraska: Judge rules in lawsuit by neighbor: No chickens; owner will continue fight to keep them. JWR’s Comment: This underscores the importance of avoiding buying property inside a community with a HOA and onerous CC&Rs. o o o The creeping Nanny State: Court ruling makes Minnesota latest state to call BB gun ‘firearm’ (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.) o o o B.B. recommended this video: The ISIS apocalypse: The history, strategy, and doomsday vision of the Islamic State. o o o Tim J. Sent us this: Woman is hysterical while …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“If those who wrote and ratified the 14th Amendment had imagined laws restricting immigration – and had anticipated huge waves of illegal immigration – is it reasonable to presume they would have wanted to provide the reward of citizenship to the children of the violators of those laws? Surely not.” – George Will


Notes for Thursday – October 01, 2015

On this day in 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T–the world’s first truly mass-produced automobile. The Model T had an initial pricetag of $825 (and was only available in black.) But by 1925, with the economies of scale, the price was reduced to just $260. o o o Today, we present the first entry for Round 61 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded …


Judging for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog Writing Contest — Winners Announced!

Our staff has completed the judging for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes are awarded as follows: First Prize goes to Iowa Farm Boy for Traversing the Hinterlands – (Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3.) Second Prize goes to A.J. for Learning How to Grow Food in the American Redoubt. Third Prize goes to Redoubting Thomas for The 20% Solution. And Honorable Mention prizes ($30 Amazon.com gift cards) go to these nine fine articles: The Aging Prepper, by R.H. MultipleFamilies on Your Retreat, by Farmer Brown Buildinga Simple Multiband Antenna That Works, by The Consultant …


New Prizes For Round 61 And Beyond

We are pleased to announce that three new prizes have been added to the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest prize packages, starting with Round 61. (Which begins today, October 1st, 2015..) These prizes are: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case–a $1,700 value. (Added to the First Prize package.) Note that this prize is just their “starter”-size mobile off-grid power system. They build them all the way up to 3,000 watts! A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from …


Letter: A First-Hand Perspective on Europe’s Immigration Crisis

Hugh, My wife and I have just returned from a two week vacation that I had planned long ago to Hungary, Austria, and a bit of Germany. I’m not sure how great the coverage of this was in the U.S., but I would like to give the readers a briefing. Upon arriving in Vienna, we discovered that our train to Budapest had been cancelled. One look around the Westbahnhof train station revealed literally thousands of immigrants. Rail officials could do little to offer suggestions as to what to do. It was up to us to find our way out. We …


Letter: Fall Season Prepping

Dear Mr. Rawles and Mr. Latimer: Since the Autumnal Equinox has passed us by, may I offer a link to a relevant string of articles? I have been contemplating seasonal adjustments to my preps, and Cheaper Than Dirt has a series of blogposts that I found useful in provoking thought. I hope folks find this useful, as we tune our plans for the changing seasons. Thank you for your blog, and all you do. – Skyrat


Economics and Investing:

Preparing For Collapse: Record Eight-Year Silver Buying Intensity Continues o o o Chris Martenson: Buy Gold While You Still Can! — An important update on the supply of physical gold o o o BofA Issues Dramatic Junk Bond Meltdown Warning: This “Train Wreck Is Accelerating” Items from The Economics Team: The Hard Landing Has Arrived: Chinese Coal Company Lays Off 100,000 (Zero Hedge) Wallstreet Braces for Grim 3rd Quarter Earnings Results (Reuters) Clark Howard: Don’t Fall for Scams!


Odds ‘n Sods:

Why I Chose the Self Sufficient Life o o o Everyday Kitchen Chemistry: Understanding Baking Soda and Baking Powder (Articles like this one teach us the mechanics of kitchen chemistry and help us to become more independent and resourceful and prepared.) o o o ISIS Planning ‘Nuclear Tsunami’ o o o The XM42 Flamethrower-What Freedom Looks Like. The flames are projected up to 30 feet. You can buy one direct from the factory, in the powder-coated color of your choice at XM42.com. I suppose that one of these would be great for clearing brush in the springtime or for igniting …



Notes for Wednesday – September 30, 2015

On this day in 1787, the Columbia left Boston harbor to began the first ever around-the-world trip by an American-flagged vessel. o o o Today, we present the final entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses …


Letter Re: One Source of Emergency Fuel for Diesel Engines

Mr. Rawles, I really enjoyed your Christian-themed survivalist books and always wondered what my family and I would do under similar circumstances. Now I’m a little too old to be doing any of that;. But I thought I’d pass on something to you for for your future books and for the SurvivalBlog readership. I worked for more than 45 years in the electric utility industry in substation construction and maintenance. When our large transformer oil trucks were finished work at the end of the day, we’d always dump the left-over transformer insulating oil into our diesel truck’s “saddle tanks” and …