Category: Current Events & Politics

Letter Re: License Plate Readers & OPSEC

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Sir: Two of SurvivalBlog’s recent posts referenced altering or covering license plates to avoid identification by license plate readers. Coincidentally, the last two episodes of the reality show Hunted involved people being tracked by this technology. Altering your plate is clearly illegal. Apparently plastic covers are also illegal, at least in some jurisdictions. Electronic surveillance devices seem to be virtually everywhere these days. Do you have any advice for those of us who still believe in personal privacy but don’t want to break the law? About all I can think of is a good coat of mud or a trailer-hitch …


Intellectual Survival, by D.W.

“Through space the universe grasps me and swallows me up like a speck; through thought I grasp it.”[1] -Blaise Pascal “It is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs, but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason, when the use of rational speech is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs.”[2] -Aristotle Imagine for a moment, you have just finished eating dinner with your family. You have been living without power for months. You planned for this, of course. …


Letter Re: Airport BOB

HJL, What a great list. I happily read this, as I travel frequently. I appreciated the list and agree with the items and responses already listed. I would just like to add a couple comments. LED lights are great, but living in Alaska, where at times we have 20 hours of darkness, I would add buying a head lamp. This is a basic $20 head lamp that slips in a pocket and is great for hands-free light. I also would add that I carry a packet of silver coins along with the cash. I have a length of paracord and …


January in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, by Steven Chochran of Gainsesville Coins where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. What Did Gold Do in January? December 30th saw gold end 8% higher for the year, for the first annual increase since 2012. The trend continued for gold in January, as prices moved upward for nearly the entire month. Starting January (and the year) near $1,152 an ounce, profit-taking and safe haven demand played tug-of-war …


Letter Re: The Economy, Trump and Tax Proposals

HJL: I just attended my insurance agent’s coop annual meeting where a “behavioral economist’ spoke. One of his points is that GDP growth is limited to 1.5% by the available labor, even allowing for the higher percentage that is U-6. He says the gap has narrowed but always present. I look at the change in the tax code to promote repatriation of funds held overseas and a potential repeat of the accelerated cost recovery rules on depreciation that powered the Reagan revitalization along with the convergence of robotic technology and wonder if any jobs would be produced by the wave …


When Every Shred of Privacy is Lost: Take Comfort, by The Recovering Feminist

“Why should we be afraid of one another, since both of us have only God to fear?”[1] (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) There exists a place where man is not allowed to venture. This place is another man’s soul. Humans may experience consensual soul connections but to think that man could determine the end of the soul is another thing altogether. There is a place in every human being that is untouchable. Even if humans are monitored day and night and their actions and words analyzed and predicted, put into a mental prison so-to-speak, and even if somehow technology is able to affect …


Letter Re: IP Addresses in an Internet Blackout

If the powerful few decide to shut down independent news sites, more than likely they will shut down the DNS servers and leave the rest of the Internet up. The DNS servers (Domain Name System) is liken to a telephone book. You look up the name (Domain name) and it gives you the telephone number, in our case, the IP Number (Internet Protocol Number). They can accomplish this by shutting down the entire DNS systems or just selectively remove certain domain addresses from the book, leaving the rest of the book operational. Note that either way, the news sites are …


Letter Re: We, The Women

Mrs Latimer, There are many women in pink hats who are likely to end up spinsters with cats. There’s “farmersonly.com”, but I don’t know that a Redoubt “self-sufficient spouses” dating site would do much worse. You may wish to consider it. There are so many holy, God loving women. I don’t think any were marching in the Women’s March, though many might have been in the pro-life marches. There was a tiny screech-fest in a local town; I’ll wait to see if they want to blow up the white house or unleash a stream of profanities. I think there will …


We, The Women, by Sarah Latimer

My article was all written on a very practical household survival subject and ready to be posted, but between the letters I’ve recently received from encouraging SurvivalBlog readers (including some with very personal details) about family and the crisis in American homes without strong submissive women and Godly male leadership, the inauguration, the Women’s March in Washington, and an editorial I read today relating to the Women’s March, combined with what continuously burns in my heart, I am bursting to write on another subject. It is written with a sense of urgency because it comes from my heart as I …


Letter Re: SIG MCX Recall

Hello Sir, I noticed a credit card charge from SIG. It turns out a conversion kit (AKA a barrel) finally became available for my MCX. I’ve been “in line” for several months now. Just to be safe, in this era of scams and CC fraud, I called in to verify that this was a legitimate charge. It was. While on their website looking for their contact number, however, I noticed that there was a recall: MCX Mandatory Carriage Assembly Replacement Program. I started filling out the form, but then my paranoia got the better of me. I made further inquiry …


Letter: Prayer Works – 11th Hour Attempt by France to Further Jam Up Israel Flops

Hugh, It looks clear that Trump administration support of Israel will be (thankfully) almost a polar opposite to the disdain and malicious “one step forward-three steps back” policy of Obama. The last straw occurred when the U.S. broke with their consistent 68-year policy of supporting Israel at the UN. In late 2016, the U.S. allowed a significant condemnation of Israel through the UN resolution that the U.S. allowed through the Security Council by refusing to veto it. Sensing Israeli blood in the water, France hastily organized a kangaroo court-style 2017 Paris Mideast peace conference that was set up for the …


Hurricane Preparedness Experience- Part 2, by N.K.

I had drinking water because my subdivision was on the county water system which never went down, nor was there any boil water alert for our area. Part of the reason for this was the emergency planning done by county government to ensure water got delivered at full volume and pressure to fire hydrants during weather emergencies, and there’s backup power for pumps to accomplish this. Since hydrants and houses are on the same system, we coasted on local government’s emergency preps. Life and planning really is different in hurricane country. If water ran short, I had some options. Half …


Guest Article: A Primer on Tactical Intelligence Collection, by Samuel Culper

Tornadoes, flooding, and wildfires are just three examples of localized and very personal emergency events that we saw last year, and they illustrate the devastation by an event for which there is immediate early warning. We can be alerted to a tornado warning and seek cover. We can vacate our homes in case of flooding or an approaching wildfire. As we deal in the likelihood of SHTF scenarios, the likelihood of natural crisis events is 100%. However, on a regional or national scale, we’re looking at more unpredictable events for which there is little to no early warning: an electromagnetic …


Two Letters Re: The Common Discussion

HJL, I would like to add one statement to this discussion. The door going in and out of the USA swings both ways. Is it a matter of my way or the highway? In a word, no. However, I am begging for any liberal of any stripe to please tell me where it is so much better to live on this planet, and once stated, why are you not there? I am a firm believer in voting with your feet. I and many others have done it, and so can anyone else. Quit your complaining. – C.N. o o o …


Letter Re: EPA to Sub-Freezing Alaska

JWR and HJL, Sadly, we are about to experience the same bureaucratic wisdom here in NY’s North Country and Adirondacks. Recently a well known engineering school had a student research panel present similar concerns in a public forum. I’m not quite sure how I’ve lived as long (or as warmly!) without their expertise. The old adage of “…wood heats four times” is still true. – RJH