Guest Post: The Difference Between Gold and Debt, by Gary Christenson

Simple version: Gold is good. Sovereign debt is bad. The world has added approximately $60 Trillion in debt since 2007, much of it sovereign debt created from deficit spending on social programs, wars, and much more. In that time the world has mined perhaps 30,000 tons of gold, or about 950 million ounces, worth at September 2015 prices a little more than a $Trillion. It is easy to create debt – central banks “print” currencies by borrowing those currencies into existence. Debt increases, currency in circulation increases, and until it crashes, life is good for the financial and political elite. …


Economics and Investing:

India Versus COMEX: Physical Silver Demand Will Destroy Paper Rigged Markets o o o There are Five Times More Claims on Dollars Than Dollars in Existence (Zero Hedge) Items from The Economics Team: Glencore Could Spark a Lehman Moment for Miners The More Americans Know Congress, the Worse Congress is Rated Atlanta Fed Slashes 3rd Quarter Estimates for Growth (Reuters) U.S. Factories Vulnerable to Chill in Global Economy (Reuters) Investment Banking Business is a Horror Show (Business Insider) Demand for Physical Silver through the Roof (Zero Hedge)


Odds ‘n Sods:

Greg suggested this great piece by Eric Barker: 8 secrets to grit and resilience, courtesy of the Navy SEALs o o o Reader C.M. suggested this interesting Kickstarter project funding campaign:= “ZeroDay” Minimalist Survival Kit ZDSK o o o Over at The Middle East Forum: Saudi Arabia is Not Our Friend



Notes for Saturday – October 3, 2015

October, 3, 2015 is the 22nd anniversary of the Mogadishu, Somalia raid. The 18 Americans killed were: MSG Gary Gordon, 1st SFOD-D SFC Randy Shughart, 1st SFOD-D SSG Daniel Busch, 1st SFOD-D SFC Earl Fillmore, 1st SFOD-D MSG Timothy Martin, 1st SFOD-D CPL Jamie Smith, 3/75 Ranger SPC James Cavaco, 3/75 Ranger SGT Casey Joyce, 3/75 Ranger PFC Richard Kowaleski, 3/75 Ranger SGT Dominic Pilla, 3/75 Ranger SGT Lorenzo Ruis, 3/75 Ranger SSG William Cleveland, Jr. 160th SOAR SSG Thomas Field, 160th SOAR CW4 Raymond Frank, 160th SOAR CW3 Clifton Wolcott, 160th SOAR CW2 Donovan Briley, 160th SOAR SGT Cornell …


Praise For Chris Walsh and Revolutionary Realty

Over a period of time I have accumulated many letters of recommendation for Chris Walsh and his real estate agency, Revolutionary Realty. (It is a two-man agency that specializes in retreat properties in The American Redoubt.) I’ve actually received nine letters of recommendation for Chris, but the latest one reminded me that I’ve been remiss in mentioning Chris in the blog. So from the nine letters, I picked just six particularly succinct ones to post, as a representative sample. Note that some of these are just excerpts from longer letters. And I’ve redacted a few details to protect the privacy …


Economics and Investing:

Municipal Bankruptcies and more on the way o o o Paul Caron: 2015 International Tax Competitiveness Ranking: U.S. Is 32 Out Of 34 OECD Countries o o o Dr. Housing Bubble reports: Chicago overtakes Detroit as the worst performing housing market: San Diego outperforms while Los Angeles hits a snag. Items from The Economics Team: Ron Paul Rages “They” Refuse To Learn From Their Mistakes – Put perfectly… (No surprise that this is from Ron Paul.) Year End Government Spending Spree – Spend It or Lose It Leads to Government Waste of Taxpayer Dollars American Manufacturing is in Recession


Odds ‘n Sods:

A very useful piece was recently posted at the Thoughts From Frank and Fern blog: Survival Radio Net #1 o o o There is a lot of talk in the news about the mass shooting at a Umpqua Community College in western Oregon. A few alternative media types are asking about the shooter’s MySpace “connection”, Mahmoud Ali Ehsani. But the mainstream media outlets and the Obama regime are predictably grandstanding for civilian disarmament. Avalanche Lily (Mrs. Rawles) asks: “Why isn’t the network news asking about Muslim extremism? Why punish the 99.9% of gun owners who use their guns responsibly, when …



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 …