Category: Current Events & Politics

Should I Bug Out or Survive in Place?- Part 3, by Jonathan Hollerman

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“I can’t afford a survival retreat and I have nowhere to go!” I hope the information I’ve imparted so far—scrutinizing the source of your prepper information and determining the worst-case scenario to prepare for—has the wheels turning inside your head. Maybe you’re not totally convinced that you should abandon your current plans to survive in place yet, but you admit there’s at least an inkling of truth to what I’m saying. Your biggest roadblock may be financial, and that may seem insurmountable. Most of us aren’t millionaire businessmen who can afford a fully-stocked survival retreat to bug out to. I …


Should I Bug Out or Survive in Place?- Part 1, by Jonathan Hollerman

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Where are you getting your prepping advice? Why? Should I try to survive in place or should I bug out? This is a hotly debated question in the prepping community with many people firmly entrenched on both sides of the aisle. There are numerous articles discussing the topic, but most are only a handful of paragraphs that never really explain how or why they arrived at their recommendation. To answer the “Bug Out” or “Bug In” question effectively, we must discuss essential background information and context. I will break down the discussion into three sections: your source for prepping advice, …


Letter Re: Transporting Documents – Empty the Trash!

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Hugh, The files that you think you deleted from your portable drive using the Windows “delete” command or the Mac “move to trash” command are still there; you just can’t see them. Learn how to securely delete files from the .trashes and hidden files from thumb drives by doing an Internet search on the topic of .trashes file and how to securely delete old files from them. This is a must do for anyone using a USB thumb or SD card. If you have a Windows computer and can find the option to “show hidden files” you should do that. …


The Mythical Group Retreat: Survival Preparations are Not Like Car Detailing

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The mainstream media has recently featured many articles about multi-millionaires buying opulent shelter spaces marketed by companies like The Survival Condo Project and Terra Vivos Reportedly, these swank leased shelter spaces are being gobbled up by the rich and famous. (Important Caveat: Those are just two well-publicized examples among many similar ventures, and I’m not criticizing them, per se. I have serious doubts about the efficacy of all such leased retreat space ventures, if and when things fall apart.) Survival preparations are not like buying a service, such as car detailing or house painting. You can’t just “have it done” …


Letter Re: Bundys in Nevada

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A recent letter regarding the Bundy family claimed, “[The Bundys] don’t own the land; they lease it. If they won’t abide by the terms of the lease, then they can and should be given a chance to meet the terms of the lease, but if they won’t then the landlord (in this case the BLM) has the right to evict them and try to collect back rent.” This reflects a common misconception. If the assertion were true that the land is in fact leased, the logic would of course be unassailable. However, BLM grazing allotments are *not* leases (at least, …


Letter Re: Bundys in Nevada

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Hi Hugh, I found your blog a few days ago and really enjoy reading it. I would like to comment on the sentiment expressed in one of the links you posted in “Odds ‘n Sods” today– Judge Openly laughs at Bundy Ranch Defendants Rights. First, I agree that our courts are corrupt, many judges are openly undermining our Constitution and Rule of Law, and denying a defendant’s rights and then laughing about it is inexcusable. What I disagree with is the idea that the Bundy family is a bunch of “patriots” standing up to “the tyrannical state.” In my opinion, …


Letter Re: The United Airlines Passenger Dragging Incident

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JWR, I am a loyal reader, but your reference to the officers who removed this nut case off the plane as “goons” was uncalled for and unfortunate. With your military background, I would think that you would have been more inclined to view a “lawful order” as one that should be complied with and then questioned later. This disreputable, defrocked, drugs-for-sex doctor obviously has mental problems, and he refused to comply with federal law and the officers who were merely doing their duty. Were I there in an official capacity, he would have had even more problems. – E.M. HJL’s …


Letter Re: Article V Convention

JWR & HJL: After reading the article Bloomberg’s Anti-National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill Editorial Shoots Itself in the Foot – DSV, with reference to ten years from now, I was reminded of an article concerning the proposed Article V Convention. This I believe is one of the most, if not the most, important matter we need to keep ourselves aware of and do all in our power to defeat it before the required number of states can be met. This is an outstanding website with untold valuable information concerning our country and Constitution. I believe your readers would benefit from …


Letter Re: Online OPSEC

Jim/Hugh, When I wrote the “Building an 80% Firearm” series for SB I briefly touched on how to keep a similar low profile. I would add the following : Face-to-face (FTF) using cash is certainly king and the most likely to allow anonymity. Buying the the remaining parts for an 80% or conventional build at a gun show or using BackPage or Armslist is reasonably easy. Buying your 80% lower the same way is also best if available but the finding 80% lowers through any of those three sources is still sparse. Many gun shows do not have an 80% …


Letter Re: Online OPSEC

Hello, I read your articles concerning “OPSEC” and was wondering if you could answer a question for me? I am concerned about my privacy with online purchases. I would like to buy some “controversial” items (nothing illegal, of course). For example: An AR-15 80% Lower. How would I do that with good OPSEC? – Dave HJL’s Comment: Unfortunately, if you are going to pay online, there is virtually no way for you to maintain any sort of anonymity. There will always be a path of traceability. You can help the situation by paying with Postal Money Orders for which you …


Letter Re: Survival Prospects for Gun-Toting Liberal Protestors

These people may not know how to fight. Lots of right-wingers don’t know how, either, including those who have been to a lot of spray-and-pray classes. The point is, when the fighting starts, you either learn how to fight or die, or find a way to escape from the front line. The thing to remember is that none other than Karl Marx called for the “universal armament of the proletariat.” The point being, that once the “proletariat” do the job of massacring the right-wingers, they can easily be disarmed. Europe has demonstrated that. Remember that the leftists are most decidedly …


Saying Goodbye to the Worst Camo Pattern, Ever

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In 2015, with the rollout of Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP)—a slight variation of the Crye Multicam pattern, the U.S. Army announced that it is nearing the end of issuing the much-hated Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP, also known as the Army Combat Uniform or ACU), a conspicuous grayish blob pattern that is actually prominent against most natural backgrounds. The transition from the UCP to OCP Multicam is taking four years. The last day that the UCP uniforms are still authorized for wear for the U.S. Army will be September 30th, 2019. All that I can say is, good riddance to the …


Letter: Border Update

Our family lives near the Texas border and must pass border patrol check points periodically when traveling the state. This gives us a front row seat to see what is happening along the southern border. We have noticed recent border patrol changes and wanted to give your readers an update. In the past few years, we have been through many different border patrol check points. For those not familiar with border patrol checkpoints, there are U.S. border stations immediately upon entering from Mexico. There are also border patrol stations located along the Texas border as you drive nearby the border. …


21st Century Tradecraft: Discreet Transport of Documents

I have had many of my consulting clients ask me for advice about how to maintain their privacy. One of their greatest concerns is the interception of e-mails in the now ubiquitous global Surveillance State. The sad truth is there is now no such thing as “secure” e-mail, even when using high level encryption. If a government wants to know what you are communicating and they are willing to invest sufficient time and energy, then they will eventually be able to read your encrypted e-mail. This is known as brute force decryption, wherein massive computing power is dedicated to breaking …


Selecting An Escape Route, by KyoSa D

Everyone has a plan to “Get Out of Dodge” in an emergency. As I teach my self defense and firearms classes, I ask people and they all say, “I’d head up to my cabin” or “I’ll head out west”. The problem is, have you actually considered how you will leave the immediate area of your home or work? Most of the people I hear begin their plan ambiguously. They say, just simply, “I’d leave town”, but they have never done any reconnaissance or real-life consideration of their route. As humans, we are creatures of habit. If I want to leave …