Category: Current Events & Politics

Letter Re: The Risk to Reward Ratio in Getting Concealed Carry Permits

Jim, Thank you for your excellent site. I’m here every day. My wife and I are considering getting Concealed Weapons Permits. Do you recommend getting a permit? Is it a good idea, or is it a red flag that would attract the unwanted attention of our government officials? Do you have a permit? I would appreciate your insight. – The Forester JWR Replies: I do not have a CCW permit, but I have the benefit of living in an open carry state. I don’t issue any blanket advice on concealed carry. Everyone has to weigh the risks and benefits of …


Letter Re: Gun Show Report–The Full Capacity Magazine Feeding Frenzy Continues

Mr. Rawles: I took your advice you posted last year and have been investing in some high cap magazines. I’ve bought about $2,000 worth since the [November 2008 presidential] election, and I haven’t had any second thoughts. Thank you sir, your advice is making me a tidy profit. The 75-round Romanian [RPK] drums that I bought for $135 each the day after the election are now going for $250 each. And the 31-round Glock 9 milly magazines that I paid $33.50 each for are now going for $65 each. Oh, I found +2 [magazine floorplate extension]s for those, so now …


Letter Re: It Looks Like the End is Beginning

James, A few interesting things happened in the market [on Tuesday]. This wasn’t in the market, but is relevant. Hearing lots of chatter generally about things moving to “the final phase”. “Gold is moving as the last phase of the crisis appears to have started,” said Martin Hennecke, associate director with Tyche Group in Hong Kong. I’m assuming that the last phase starts out with gold, silver, Treasury notes, and the dollar all moving up, together. (It is quite unusual for the dollar and gold to move together, even though that’s been the case recently.) Then at some point – …


Survival Retreat vs. Neighborhood Survival — Part Deux – Galt’s Gulch vs. Idiocracy, by E.B.

Introduction This is a response to a previous article written by the esteemed Dr. Richard of the Virginia Prepper’s Network. Dr. Richard and I agree completely on a great many issues but disagree on the issue of the Survival Retreat vs. Neighborhood Survival. Here are my thoughts on the issue: Dr. Richard makes some good points with respect to the desirability of an informed and prepared neighborhood, but in the end it all depends on your particular neighborhood and neighbors. Because I saw the collapse coming in 2005 I sold my home in Northern Virginia at what the Washington Post …


Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Economic Stimulus, From a Macroeconomic Perspective

Jim: I sent the following letter to my legislative representatives: Here is macroeconomics as I see it: Wealth comes from commodities, manufacturing (improving commodities), and agriculture (same principle). Service industries do not create wealth, they distribute it. This includes financial industries. Government consumes wealth as it re-distributes it. Even in the admittedly vital services such as protection of its citizens. Fact: There are already (pre-”stimulus”) more government employees than there are employees in manufacturing and agriculture in the US. Observation: The aforementioned being true, increasing the size of government is like a snake thinking it can sustain itself by eating …


Sending “Patriots” as a Form of Protest

Dear Jim, I was incensed that one of my state’s US Senators (Kay Hagan of North Carolina) voted for the so-called “Stimulus Bill”. I searched for ways to register my protest in such a way that it would get her attention. Thanks to you and your novel “Patriots”, I have a way. I just sent her a copy with a gift card from Amazon.com. The gift card reads: “This is to thank you for voting for the stimulus bill and making the resulting economic collapse and hyperinflation profiled in this work of fiction a reality.” I just hope she gets …


Letter Re: Should You Invest in Real Estate?

To quote Robert Prechter, “Short Answer is: no. Long Answer: The worst thing about real estate is its lack of liquidity during a bear market. At least in the stock market, when your stock is down 60 percent and you realize you’ve made a horrendous mistake, you can call your broker and get out (unless you’re a mutual fund, insurance company or other institution with millions of shares, in which case, you’re stuck). With real estate, you can’t pick up the phone and sell. You need to find a buyer for your house in order to sell it. In a …


Letter Re: Gun Laws in Sweden

Hello, Mr Rawles! Thank you for a great and very useful blog. Thanks for your time and effort that makes for a good, bulky read every morning. On more then one occasion I´ve had to hurry to work because of the lengthy articles. It seems like you´re receiving letters about gun ownership from around the globe so I thought I´d share Sweden´s gun situation with you. Sweden has quite liberal gun laws for those who are determined, compared to many other European countries. Compared to the US it´s a hassle, of course, but no problem if you are focused. Sweden …


Letter Re: What Does the Drop in the Baltic Dry Index Really Mean?

Dear Jim: I just read a TEOTWAWKI warning article [at Rense.com] stating that since the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) was down 95%, [and that therefore] all shop shelves would be empty in short order. The writer said that the BDI referred to the number of ships in transit. I thought it only referred to the price charged for the transport of those ships and that while the cost was indeed 95% lower, there were still a lot of ships in transport. Can you clarify? – SF in Hawaii JWR Replies: I see plenty of scare pieces like that, mostly written …


Two Letters Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Jim, For starters I would like to say that Jim you are dead-on with your Delta Junction recommendation. I live near Delta. And it is some of the finest farm land in the world. everything grows amazing here. Some of the information in the previous letters is wrong and I would like to clarify them . The growing season may be a little shorter in days of light, but in total hours of light it is much longer than other places. It gets light here in May and gets dark at night again in late August. Some vegetables will grow …


Three Letters Re: The Community Retreat

James: When it comes to real-world advice that applies to real people, Kathy Harrison’s article ranks right near the top of the list. There is a sizable portion of the survival community (including my family) that believes that the community retreat model outlined in this article is, for most scenarios, the single best strategy for survival. While there are certainly some scenarios in which a remote retreat would be advantageous, those (in my opinion) are relatively few and unlikely. The community retreat strategy is one that can be used by just about anyone regardless of family or occupational requirements. It …


Inauguration Fallout: Will Retreat Locale Priorities be Skewed?

The recent inauguration of BHO and the establishment of a quasi-socialist majority in congress will have some far-reaching implications. Today, I ‘m just going to focus on one of them, because it is of concern to many preparedness-minded individuals: The possibility of Federal gun laws becoming just as bad or perhaps worse than those extant in the most gun-grabbing states. For many years I have advised my consulting clients and SurvivalBlog readers to “vote with their feet”, if they live in states with restrictive gun laws. Unlike the UK, that has a uniform set of national laws, the US has …


Letter Re: Lessons from the January Ice Storm

Jim: The Ice Storm that just plastered Kentucky brought some reminders of just how bad things can get and how being prepared – in advance – is critical. Within a few hours, everything became coated with a half-inch to an inch of ice: roads, cars, trees, power lines – everything. Throughout the night, we heard crashes as our neighbor’s trees lost massive limbs. We knew it was only a matter of time before trees limbs (which are not properly trimmed back by our utility company in an attempt to cut costs) collapsed on power lines and caused widespread outages. In …


Letter Re: Lost Tribe Bypassed by History: Ragtag Band of Khmer Families

James; This is an old story but still interesting: Lost tribe bypassed by history. My [Cambodian] wife, who is in her thirties, still has some of these jungle/farming skills. Her younger brothers and sisters who have lived in Phnom Penh do not. Most young people only know about Karaoke and mobile phones. Many of the under 15’s think the Khmer Rouge is something their parents made up. See: Lost tribe leaves the jungle for brave new world of mobiles. Help runs out for the lost tribe of Cambodia Slide show: Lost tribe I don’t think most people want to copy …


The Community Retreat, by Kathy Harrison

Establishing a retreat seems to be the dream of many survivalists but realistically, evacuating to a retreat is not a proposition that is readily available to very many. There are generally problems with finances as well as family commitments to contend with. Many folks, like me, have spent years in establishing perennial food plants, compost piles, garden plots, building small businesses and, most importantly, forging important community ties that would not be easily broken. Therefore, we would be well advised to explore how to approach ways to turn our own residences into retreat communities. The location of the community is …