Notes from JWR:

The tragic mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut underscores that fact that in 1996 our own congress turned public schools into gun free zones, making them ideal killing grounds for lunatics. (Where they will only find unarmed victims.) Please contact your legislators and encourage them to rescind the Gun Free School Zones Act (reenacted by Congress, Sep. 30, 1996 –P.L. 104-208.) If even a minority of school teachers were armed (as they are in Israel and South Africa) then slaughters like this could be prevented, or at least minimized. — December 15th is Bill of Rights …


Self-Defense and Stress: You are Your Own Last Line of Defense, by Jessica B.

I have seen many articles on Self-Defense. What I have not seen is topics regarding that moment that you find yourself in a stressful, self-defense situation and how to overcome it. I have taught my children from age 4 that you are your own last line of defense. This realization in itself can be pretty stressful. What most people don’t realize is that when attacked you only have ½ a second to react. This may not seem like a lot of time, but I assure you, your life can be ended by what happens in that initial ½ second. People …


Letter Re: Pat’s Product Review: PakLite 9V LED Flashlight

Hi Captain Rawles, I’m a long time SurvivalBlog reader and occasional commenter. Just had to respond to EagerGridlessBeaver with his post and review of the Paklite LED flashlight battery life test (WOW!) and the possibilities for IR use.  If you could afford to purchase numerous of the IR LED models, these same could be sequestered around your property connected to clothespin  type contacts and trip wires.  With a quick scan at night with your NVGs you would know instantly if any of your wires were tripped, with invaders being none-the-wiser if they were without NVGs.  It could provide an alert …


Economics and Investing:

Roubini: Bernanke Just Launched QE5 Will the Real Federal Deficit Please Stand Up? $222 Trillion! KAF sent: 526,421 family farms threatened by new death tax Items from The Economatrix: Gold is a Leading Indicator of Monetary Distress Sales of American Gold Eagles Soar 15 Signs That The Economy Is Rapidly Getting Worse As We Head Into 2013


Odds ‘n Sods:

Meth’s devastating effects: Before and after    o o o Nightmare in Mexico: Friends, family call for the release of ex-Marine jailed in Mexico after trying to declare an antique shotgun. And if this sounds absurd (24″ versus 25″ barrel length), just consider that here in the nominally “free” United States, 17.9″ versus 18″ of barrel length for a shotgun will similarly earn you a long trip to prison on a felony conviction. All gun laws are repressive and repugnant to the Constitution!    o o o Russell S. mentioned: National Prepper Radio Calling Frequencies    o o o Steve …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The Constitution begins with the words ‘We the People’ and the last three words at the end of the Tenth Amendment are ‘to the People’.  So, you see, the Constitution is really all about the People owning a central, national government. Since that is the case, how in the heck did we wind up with the federal government owning us?” – Phillip Marsh, in The Compleat Patriot


Notes from JWR:

The U.S. Mint’s report to the U.S. Congress with firm recommendations for new coin compositions is due to be released today, December 14, 2012. Once Congress acts to debase the nickel (most likely switching to almost worthless stainless steel coin planchets), the window of opportunity will close. This may be our last chance to stock up on real nickels in quantity without any sorting. If you haven’t yet assembled your stack of nickel boxes, then do so NOW! — This is the birthday of Air Force General James Harold “Jimmy” Doolittle, (born in 1896, died September 27, 1993.) — Today …


Europe In The News: Ominous Prospects, by Michael F.

It appears as if there are some new developments going in on the Continent, that unfortunately appear to be old memes being resurrected for the 21st Century. Let’s take a look at the highlights of recent events: Greece continues to have widespread protests and riots as unemployment remains above 25% (25.4%, when measured in August, 2012) and austerity measures continue to be implemented. Spain is in a deep recession, and has been since 2008.  The banking industry in Spain alone could require 60 Billion Euros to remain solvent. Portugal and Italy are in similar straits to Spain and all three are close to emulating the protests, …


Letter Re: Mysterious Lights in North Dakota?

Jim, You recently linked to NightlightMap.com. What is that big huge area of brightness in [ostensibly lightly-populated] Northwest North Dakota? That makes me question the usefulness of that map at all. – Sam D. JWR Replies: Those lights are the main concentration of activity in the Bakken oil fields–see this map.  (See also, these photos.) Reader Rob H. tells me that the dots of light shown are mostly the light of burning off excess wellhead gas. (Plus, presumably: floodlights around drilling rigs, and floodlights around equipment yards, and the light of burning off excess wellhead gas, and floodlights, and the …


Letter Re: Pat’s Product Review: PakLite 9V LED Flashlight

Hi, I am a long time SurvivalBlog reader. I read the review on the Paklite and I wanted to post a link to my non-commercial blog which has some posts on the subject (where I experimented with the battery life). They are great little lights and we now own 3 of them. (Two are standard blue-white LED and one is red LED to retain night vision). I regularly encourage people to get them. Thanks and keep up the good work! – EagerGridlessBeaver


Economics and Investing:

Over at Zero Hedge: Art Cashin Previews Our $202 Trillion Destiny Reader Andre D. recommended this essay: The West is signing its own death sentence Pam C. wrote mention: “In most banks, the bulk teller is the person in charge of the ordering of currency and the vault. The bulk teller is normally stationed nearest the vault and handles the commercial deposits. This is the bank employee that you should contact about bulk ordering nickels.” Items from The Economatrix: US Stocks Rise With Metals On China; Italy Bond Plunge The Coming Derivatives Panic That Will Destroy Global Financial Markets Will …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Packin’ for the ‘pocalypse: Several readers have sent me letters with this theme: “Due to the erroneous Mayan prophecy date of December 21st, 2012, there is a strong possibility of some self-fulfilling prophecies on an individual level, such as suicides, murder-suicides, mass-suicides, or people ‘going postal’ in public places.” They recommend that everyone that has a CCW permit or that lives in a Constitutional Carry state to fully exercise their right to carry (and pack a few extra magazines) between now and December 31, 2012. That sounds wise to me!    o o o G.G. sent this: Congressman calls for …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“At the beginning of a 4th Generation civil war, everybody starts with a finite amount of ammunition. The ones who never run out are those who make every round count and thus are able to forage out the ammo pouches of the dead men who didn’t. That’s why marksmanship training matters.” – Mike Vanderboegh, Sipsey Street Irregulars, October 11, 2012


Notes from JWR:

December 13th is the birthday of Sergeant Alvin York. He was quite a guy. — Today we present another entry for Round 44 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, 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 …


Caring for the Chronically Ill Family Member in a Disaster, by Rebecca H.

Caring for a chronically ill family member takes an emotional and physical toll on the caregiver. Compound this in a time of disaster, civil unrest, social and economic collapse and you might feel there is no chance for survival. I cannot say that. There might be insurmountable odds against a seriously ill family member living in harsh conditions for very long, but it is my goal as a caregiver to ensure I have the tools and knowledge to keep that family member as comfortable; physically, emotionally and spiritually as I can. As the wife of a recent kidney transplant recipient, …