Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward …



Gun Trusts — Preserving Firearm Ownership Into The 21st Century, by Attorney Terry E. Hogwood

Introduction There are two questions that every gun owner will be asked to address in the near future: 1. Do you own and store firearms in your home? 2. Do you want your children and their children to inherit your firearms without undergoing a background check? Question 1 is taken from a random selection of medical portal entrance questionnaire forms. The question appears on the form along with questions about swimming pools, drugs, alcohol etc and asks if each identified potential risk is present in the patient’s household. It is not a random question for philosophical consideration. It has recently …


Letter Re: Loose Lips: No Need to Pump Some Folks for Information

James Wesley, A few days ago I called a local businessman about doing some work on our water well pump.  I also asked him his advice about the possibility of later installing a manual water pump along with the electric pump.  He then began to tell me that he was at that very moment installing a manual pump for another person.  His words though were “for one of these preppers.”  He said, “I guess he’s worried about a zombie attack or something.”  This short interaction made me think about a few things that I would like to pass on. 1.  …


Letter Re: GPS Jamming is Illegal in Most Jurisdictions

James, Please let your readers know that GPS jammers are illegal to own, operate, and market in the United States. Here is a link to the FCC consumer alert on GPS jammers. While I can understand that someone could make the personal decision that their personal privacy justifies blocking GPS tracking, please be aware that these GPS jammers are very effective and can jam an area up to a mile in diameter. There was well-publicized incident of a personal GPS jammer that shut down the aircraft landing aid at the Newark, New Jersey airport. And there are documented cases of …


Economics and Investing:

At Seeking Alpha: Why the Dow Could Hit 20,000 in Three Years Mac Slavo: We Have Blown the Largest Bubble in the History of Mankind G.G. flagged this: Doomsday poll: 87% risk of stock crash by year-end Surprise! Your Bitcoins May Be Taxable Income to the IRS Items from The Economatrix: Peter Schiff: Fed’s Advisory Council Admits We’re Screwed UCLA Economist Forecast Paints Dismal Picture of Economic Recovery Retailers’ Sales Rise in May, Spending Stays Moderate Remember The Sequester?  It’s Finally Dinging The Economy


Odds ‘n Sods:

There is lots of news about these revelations: NSA taps in to user data of Facebook, Google and others, secret files reveal and NSA Is Seizing Millions of Verizon Phone Records and Clapper denied NSA surveillance before Senate panel in March testimony. As I’ve mentioned before: Never consider anything you say on the phone or anything that you do on the Internet is “private.”    o o o Reader Joe K. suggested this new e-book: Locusts on the Horizon, authored by the Plan B Writers Alliance. It also comes highly recommended by Greg Ellifritz of  Active Response Training. It is …



Notes from JWR:

This is the last day of the big semi-annual sales on Mountain House long term storage foods at Ready Made Resources and Safecastle. Get your orders in before midnight! — Today we present another entry for Round 47 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) 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 …


Developing a Scavenger Mindset, by Barry B.

It has been said that the most important thing about prepping and survival is having the appropriate mindset. A strong spiritual mindset will get you through many hardships.  The mindset that your survival is up to you, that the government will not be there to help you is also necessary.  Having a scavenging mindset is also important. Scavenging will be an important skill post SHTF.  A scavenging mindset means that you aren’t embarrassed by scavenging people’s trash piles, and that you see value in items that others deem as trash. Scavenging is not the same as picking in my view.  …


Letter Re: Canadian Officials Cast a Wider Net on Restricted Guns

Mr. Rawles, Two years ago, I wrote to you prior to the abolition of the Canadian Long Gun Registry about rumors that senior officials with the RCMP were conspiring to reclassify a large number of long guns. A major development has recently unfolded that I think merits attention to both your Canadian and American readers – as this could potentially set a major precedent pertaining to gun registration and confiscation.   There is a lot of drama and intrigue involved between some of the owners of businesses involved, and a more comprehensive explanation of the situation can be found here …


Economics and Investing:

S&P 500 Crash Warning: Margin Debt Surpasses 2007 Danger Levels The supply and demand math can’t be avoided: Summer Is Lyme Disease Season. The Price of the Drug to Treat It Just Exploded. Once again, those of us who wisely stocked up are sitting pretty. The Roubini – Faber Debate South African Rand Leads Emerging Market Rout. Rationalizing and pushing the debt limit: The academic battle to open the gates on unlimited digital debt monetization. G.G. suggested this: Nine reasons why the four-year-old US economic recovery is closer to awful than awesome Bread, butter, and food stamp economy: Is the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

GoldAndSilverOnline.com (one of our generous writing contest sponsors) has announced a special just for SurvivalBlog readers: Use discount code: survivalblog at checkout, and get free shipping on your entire order when purchasing two or more $10 face value rolls in pre-’65 quarters or four or more $5 face value rolls in pre-’65 in dimes.  This special offer is good only until June 30, 2013, and just one free shipment per customer.    o o o Bugging Out? There’s an app for that. The beta version of a free Bug Out Bag Checklist app is now available on the app stores: …



Notes from JWR:

The 6th of June is remembered for both D-Day and for the birth of Dieudonné Saive (born 1899.) He was the designer of many well-known firearms including the Browning Hi-Power, the FN49 and co-designer (along with Ernest Vervier) of the very popular FN-FAL rifle, which was issued to the militaries of more than 90 countries. — The semi-annual sales on Mountain House long term storage foods at Ready Made Resources and Safecastle are continuing for just two more days. Both companies are offering free shipping and discounts of 25% to 40%. Take note that Mountain House plans to significantly raise …