Category: Current Events & Politics

More Predictions for 2009, by Roger Wiegand

Our new president was inaugurated and we wish him well for the sake of our nation and others throughout the world. We do not want to be cynical but must be realistic. We think this year will be the worst one of this longer recession-depression cycle and our new leader, we suspect is going to take a merciless pounding from a heap of troubles domestically first and foreign later. Thankfully, the spending of TARP #2 and whatever billions-trillions are added for emphasis, should give us the Obama Market Bounce lasting perhaps 90 days or so. While this economics plan has …


12 Letters Re: The Gray Man in the Coming Storm

Jim: Contrary to your apparent slew of letters, I thought that the Gray Man article article made a lot of sense. Come the time that the government actually moves against [gun owners] to that extent, we can be picked off one by one, leaving a lot of widows and orphans, or we can survive and live. A dead patriot does no one any good. The “Gray Man” theory is thoroughly fleshed out in a book by Jefferson Mack, entitled “Invisible Resistance to Tyranny.” I was deeply affected by this book, and encourage others to read it. For the record, I …


The Big Roller Coaster is Picking Up Speed

The following are few random observation on current events: 1. Economic News 1A. The recent turn for the worse for Great Britain’s economy has sent shock waves around the globe. I expect this bad news continue, and intensify in the months to come, especially once the full implications of the Credit Default Swap (CDS) derivatives fiasco become known. 1B. It is interesting to see that the COMEX spot silver and spot gold markets are breaking out of their doldrums. Apparently, the big investors have come to realize that there are simultaneous credit market-spawned economic problems in North America, Europe and …


Letter Re: Some Observations on Finland from a Finnish SurvivalBlog Reader

Dear Mr. Rawles, I’m a long-time lurker of SurvivalBlog, but thought I’d pass on some links of interest. For the record, I’ve read your novel [“Patriots“], and I am coming from a “Peaknik” viewpoint. But still have my original copy of “Life After Doomsday“. Currently I’m living in Finland, which has its pros and cons. “Russian bombers over your home” is not a theoretical concept to Finns and they don’t grow enough food for themselves [for a self-sufficient economy.]. A Nordic socialist government with high taxes and cost of living might not be of interest to many SurvivalBlog readers, but …


Letter Re: The Sad State of Private Firearms Ownership in Australia

Jim: I’m a SurvivalBlog reader in Australia. I want to describe the current situation for Australian gun owners, but first a bit of background information is needed to compare then and now: I grew up in Australia in the 1960s. My parents came here in the 1950s from a war torn Europe to have a better life here in a climate away from the cold and starving masses in Europe after the war, the so called “gun culture” in Australia was very free then, you could go on public transport with a 22 rifle tucked under your arm after a …


Four Letters Re: The Gray Man in the Coming Storm

Jim: “E’s” Gray Man concept is cowardly, standing idly by as evil men corrupt this fine country. The Citizen, on the other hand, works to preserve and protect the liberties that we now enjoy, in opposition to men and women who wish to do those liberties harm. The Citizen knows the power of government is kept in check only by the citizenry-at-large. He (or She) is not afraid to oppose totalitarian policies, because he knows to remain silent will surely result loss of his rights. He understands the Constitution and respects the ideals of the fore-fathers. He knows they didn’t …


Letter Re: The Gray Man in the Coming Storm

If the next few years go the way some are expecting, and the country moves in the direction of an authoritarian socialist state, the gray man will do some things his friends may not expect nor initially agree with: The gray man will put a pro-government bumper sticker on his vehicle, in contrast with the beliefs in his heart. The gray man will smile when the police come to his door to collect his firearms. He’ll happily hand over his registered weapons at the door and thank the officers for their work, while his cache of unregistered weapons is safely …


Letter Re: Advice on Two-Way Radio Communications

Jim, CB is potentially a good choice for folks that are not licensed amateur operators if they use directional antennae and phase the antenna for horizontal polarization instead of the normal vertical antenna. I am thinking base to base operations here. Using antenna with horizontal polarization can attenuate signals transmitted by a vertical antenna by 20 dB. Every 3dB of attenuation cuts the signal by 1/2 so that would be 1/64th or slightly less signal power! [JWR Adds: The means very low probability of intercept by anyone outside of your private family or survival group “horizontal antenna network”! That suggestion …


Preparing for Another Battle Rifle Ban, by Michael Z. Williamson

As many people will remember from the last “Assault Weapons” Ban (AWB) [in the US, which was effective from September, 1994 to September, 2004] there was a time window before the law took effect. Once it took effect, however, pre-ban purchased receivers could not legally be built into “assault weapons” unless they were in AW “format” before the ban took effect. So what does one do to get around this? It’s a rather silly technicality, but so are a lot of other legal issues. In this case, your stockpiled receivers need to be in AW “format” before any ban takes …


Letter Re: The Real Threat is Deflation

Greetings Jim, As always you have such great content on your site – I find myself constantly looking for “tomorrow’s” post today as I end my evening on the West Coast. Regarding the post by David R: ‘The Real Threat Is Deflation’, I’d like to mention a great article over on www.Mises.org called ‘Falling Prices Are The Antidote To Deflation’. Thanks to your guiding me towards studying and understanding the Austrian School of Economics, this web site has become, like yours, one that I seek out with my morning coffee. Another great article recently posted on their web site, and …


Two Letters Re: The Thin Blue Line

Jim: On the topic of SHTF scenarios like [the Post-Rodney King Verdict riots in] Los Angeles and Hurricane Katrina, YouTube has many videos detailing this that your readers might find are worth revisiting. It’s one thing to talk about it, another to actually see it all again: Los Angeles Riots, Looting, and a Gunfight in Koreatown LA Riots – Korean Store Owners Prepare for Showdown Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, 08/28/2005 Massive Evacuation Hurricane Katrina Looters, A Few of Them Were Police Officers After Hurricane Katrina, Desperation at the Convention Center Regards, – The Survivalist   James, I remain very skeptical …


The Inauguration Factor: What Will Happen to Battle Rifle and Magazine Prices in 2009 and Beyond?

There is much conjecture in shooting publications and online forums about BHO‘s upcoming inauguration. Some (myself included) have predicted that the new Administration will unleash a flurry of executive orders in their first few week. Among these will likely be a ban on semi-automatic firearms and so-called “high capacity” magazines. This may be followed soon after by the permanent re-enactment of the 1994-to-2004 Federal “Assault weapons” ban. Alas, probably too late, HK plans to build and sell their “416”-style uber-railed MR556 and MR762 rifles in the United States. The scheduled release date is “sometime in late 2009” That is the …


Letter Re: The Real Threat is Deflation

Mr. Rawles, I greatly respect your advice and columns on most matters yet I continue to see people like yourself claiming we are facing an inflationary holocaust. People in the inflationary camp point to the size of the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) or the rate or printing as if that number alone meant something. You cannot take that number alone, sir, but must measure it against the value of assets that have been destroyed by the deflation going on around you. The total inflationary pulse from Europe, Japan, and the US thus far is approximately $7.5 trillion as best …


Four Letters Re: The Thin Blue Line

JWR, [In his article “The Thin Blue Line”,] Deputy W. makes a very good observation about the tipping point when law enforcement retreats to protect their own families. This situation has occurred twice in recent history here in the U.S., during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992 and most recently in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina. I lived through the riots in L.A., as well as two earthquakes and would like to share some of what I learned from this experience. The fact I want to impress on SurvivalBlog readers is that they will …


Inflation, Taxes, and Self-Sufficiency

I recently received an e-mail from T.F. in Utah, who quipped: “They tell us that inflation is now non-existent. Well, how many years of deflation will it take to get prices back to where they once were? It is noteworthy that the average annual property tax on a house on a city lot now exceeds the entire land purchase price and construction cost of a comparable square footage house, in 1890.” Inflation is indeed insidious. And its has implications that are far-reaching. For example, consider the following: Creeping tax increases one of the reasons that it is now nearly impossible …