Odds ‘n Sods:

Holder: Yep, Obama could kill Americans on U.S. soil. And here is an interesting companion piece: Police Search Cell Phones On Massive Scale. (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.)    o o o “Why Am I Not Surprised? Department: ‘Freedom’ license plate banned in Washington D.C.    o o o James C. sent: Self-Igniting Fire Starter    o o o South Dakota approves guns in the classroom. (JWR’s Comment: It is amazing to see the difference between the various states and their prevailing attitudes, in the ongoing debate over civilian disarmament. At the same time that California, Colorado, and New …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

‘If we are going to wet our proverbial pants over 0.3% in annual spending cuts when we’re running up trillion dollar annual deficits, then we’re done. Put a fork in us. We’re finished. We’re going to default eventually and that’s why the feds are stockpiling bullets in case of civil unrest.” – Sarah Palin, in a Facebook message on February 26, 2013.


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 45 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 onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 …


A Female’s Viewpoint on How to Prepare, by I.S.

Everyone has their own unique story why they became a prepper. Mine began five years ago when my husband started ranting about the worsening economic situation in the country. I was only listening with half an ear. Sure, I noticed that food prices were creeping up with every shopping trip, and that it was getting more expensive to fill up my car every week, but didn’t that happen every year due to inflation? Why was my husband so upset about this? Although, we started discussing world events and politics more often, I still did not understand why he was so …


Letter Re: Hiding What is Mine

Dear JWR: Like most of us I am storing food in preparation of something bad happening. I have some super pails along with regular grocery items as well as some freeze dried items. I have a pantry which has long since been over run with supplies, so I built a couple heavy duty cabinets in which to store my overflow. When the great SEE (Society Ending Event) comes about I am quite sure our government won’t just shrivel up and go away. Quite the opposite, they will go from house to house looking for stored supplies. If they come to …


Letter Re: Gabbs, Nevada as a Retreat Locale

James,   I recently moved from Phoenix to a neat little remote town in North central Nevada about 7.5 hours north of Vegas and 3 hours west of Reno.   It is a survivalists dream,  sits in a approx 50 mile high desert valley about 4,500 foot elevation surrounded by mountains ranges that protect it from almost all adverse winter storms, etc.   The people are mostly mine workers and very old fashioned, level-headed types who enjoy being isolated and unregulated by the current trends elsewhere.  The area has hundreds of old forestry, mining locations most long since shutdown and forgotten, historic ghost  towns, and …


Letter Re: Surviving Snowmageddon

James, Regarding the recent piece Surviving Snowmageddon: The precursor to Seattle’s 2012 storm was the December 2008 Snowpocalypse. While the power outages weren’t as severe as 2012, the well-publicized driving conditions were nightmarish. [JWR Adds: Ditto for driving Seattle’s steep streets in 2010.] The storm hit during a workday and dropped about two feet of snow across the Puget Sound region. Temps were in the teens, visibility was whiteout, and the snow remained on the ground at least 10 days – quite rare for these parts. People were totally unprepared, especially for the drive home. Freeway traffic was literally at a stand …


Economics and Investing:

Notice the lack of large bumps in the American Redoubt on this zoomable population density map? (Thanks to Craig S. for the link.)    o o o Wyoming legislators lay down welcoming mat for Colorado gun-accessory maker.    o o o In his characteristic writing style, Montana veterinarian and state legislator Krayton Kerns bemoans the nationwide .22 LR ammo drought: Without a Shot    o o o Some Idaho legislative news, courtesy of reader RBS: Idaho Lawmakers Want More Information Before Exempting Pocket Knives as Concealed Weapons. And: Ada County Sheriff Raney’s Idaho gun legislation forum. Also in Idaho: Lawmaker: …


Economics and Investing:

Mayor Bloomberg: Don’t Panic About the Sequester. “Mr. Bloomberg argued the United States could owe “’an infinite amount of money’ and there is no specific amount that would cause the country to default.”Yeah, right. (I think he’s been sneaking a few 32-ounce Mega Big Gulps of Mountain Dew, in violation of his own decree.) Walter Zimmerman: Every Indicator I Follow Shows The Market Is Going To Tank, And There Will Be A New Financial Crisis In Debt We Trust America Before the Bubble Bursts. (Thanks to R.B.S. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Wal-Mart Situation “Getting Worse” New Leaks …



Note from JWR:

The Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course is available again, via digital download, and selling at a brisk pace. Because of the efficiency of digital delivery, it now available at just a fraction of the price that had been charged for the original hard copy binder edition. The course was designed for beginning and intermediate preppers, with this premise: Could you prepare your family for a major disaster, with just one or two trips to your local COSTCO or Sam’s Club store? In the course I describe exactly how to do that. One of the most useful course appendices is …


Islands in the Darkness: Some Local Power Utilities Have Prepared to Go It Alone

Many readers will recall that my 2011 novel “Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse” was partly set in and near Farmington, New Mexico. I chose that region because it has a particularly resilient power grid. In the novel I described how Farmington Electric Utility System (FEUS) has made contingency plans to immediately reconstitute a local power grid, in the event of a western power grid collapse. This was not just literary license on my part. It was based on a face-to-face interview with a FEUS manager that I conducted in 2009, as I was researching locales for the novel. …


Single Scope Tyranny

I recently heard from one of my readers who holds a Top Secret clearance and who has SCI access. His clearance was up for a Single-Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) periodic reinvestigation (PR). These SSBI-PRs are standard practice for anyone who holds a Top Secret clearance with access to Special Access Programs (SAPs), Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), or nuclear (“Q Access”) programs. He told me that he was the subject of an “Expanded Reinvestigation” and in the course of that investigation he was challenged by investigators about his loyalty. The challenges, he discovered,were based upon his e-mail history and the assortment …


Pat’s Product Review: Springfield Armory Champion Operator 1911

Over the years, I’ve received hundreds of e-mails, always asking me if I had to pick just one gun, for the rest of my life, what would it be? Of course, there is no easy answer to this question, and thankfully, I don’t have to make that choice – right now. And, depending on how I’m feeling at the time this question is asked, then my answer has changed over the years. There is no one gun solution , at least not in my mind. I said for years, that I’d pick some kind of 4-inch barrel, stainless steel .357 …


Three Letters Re: .300 AAC Blackout Uppers for AR-15s

Jim. An additional point or two on the viability of the 300BLK. While I agree that the primary concern should be to have your standard calibers covered, the 300BLK has the additional advantages. Because it is made from 223/5.56 brass, and uses any 30 caliber bullet, it will be easily reloaded in a SHTF situation. Another advantage is the ability to use the round suppressed (using subsonic rounds)with as close to “Hollywood” results as you will get. Although the advantages of using silenced weapons in a SHTF situation has been touched on in this forum I believe the subject could …