Category: Current Events & Politics

Letter: Ham Radio conspiracy?

Hugh, I am not sure if this guys tinfoil hat is on tight enough. I have been a Ham operator and ARES member for five years and never knew I was taken over by DHS or worked for them. – Mike HJL Responds: This is a subject that has been circulating on the Internet for several months now, and it’s probably time to address it. The problem stems mostly from the DHS and FEMA surrounding the circumstances on 9/11. In the 1970’s, Amateur Radio had reached its peak and had begun the long slow slide to oblivion. While the service …


Letter Re: The Lack of Police and Fire Training

Hugh, This comment is in regards to the Letter: The Lack of Police and Fire Training or Preparation for the Aftermath of an EMP. I have had the pleasure of working for one of the Northeast’s largest cities in their Emergency Management Department, and I am currently the Director for a County EMA in the Midwest. I agree with your comments that the risk is not high on the list that we prepare for, but we do have conversations regarding this quite a bit. Part of the problem is that the run of the mill police officer or fire fighter …


Letter Re: Does the Number of the Beast Have an Area Code?

Hugh, The worst part of ditching your tether is seeing how far gone the average person has become. I only write to point out something from the last paragraph. The author said, “The smart phone is a source of knowledge, and knowledge is power. Is it really empowering? Is it really making us more knowledgeable?” Knowledge is not the same as information. Your phone and the Internet, at large, have the power to put a mind-boggling amount of information in front of you. The average person who I encounter doesn’t know why you change the rotation on a ceiling fan …


Personal Notes of Application From SurvivalBlog’s “The Frog in A Slowly Heating Pot”- Part 1, by C.F.

First of all, let me say that Mr. N.H., who wrote The Frog in a Slowly Heating Pot, is a skilled writer; he provided a very picturesque, succinct, and articulate article. More importantly, the experience he shared was dynamic and highly educational. It was not some far-fetched, improbable scenario, but a very common and probable one, and the lessons he learned can be a blessing to many, it seems. Yes, we have questioned the story’s authenticity, but upon close examination I cannot find anything that would prove it to be fictitious based on internal evidence. If it is fictitious, the …


Letter Re: Pat Cascio’s Recent Post On Carjackings

Good morning, Hugh, Pat Cascio’s recent post on preventing carjackings included this sentence: “Fifth, drive in the center lane (if possible) when on highways; this reduces your chances of becoming a ‘bump and run’ theft victim”. I’ll agree with driving in the center lane, but stopping in the center lane is a different thing. Unless you are first in line, you’re trapped. Stopping in the curb or median lanes offers an escape route; one can drive over the curb and down the sidewalk if necessary from the curb lane, or one can cross the median or even drive in the …


Does the Number of the Beast Have an Area Code?, by CTS

[Editor’s Comment: SurvivalBlog does not endorse the concept of the “number of the beast” being associated with any form of technology; however, the information presented in this article is of import to anyone who is concerned about the collection of private information and government oversight.] Listen carefully. I’m about to tell you something that they don’t want you to hear. I’m also about to tell you something that you most likely don’t want to hear, so you may want to sit down for this. You don’t need your cell phone. There I said it. You may say, “but they are …


Conditions for Combining Survival Groups Under Extraordinary Circumstances – Part 2, by G.R.

How much of the land floods? i.e. During past tropical storms, how much of the land was under water? Again, this is ***(a southern state)***. Yes, the land gets wet when heavy rains come. All campsites and camper parking areas must be able to be elevated by the owners. The harder the rains, the worse the situation would be. In fact, a very good chore would be scouting and foraging for lumber and then constructing suitable platforms for tents. There is nothing different here than at any scouting campground or other public campsite. The land is protected by a wide …


That Pesky Little First Amendment

Over the weekend, by way of the NRA some troubling news spread across the Internet: “Commonly used and unregulated Internet discussions and videos about guns and ammo could be closed down under rules proposed by the State Department, amounting to a ‘gag order on firearm-related speech,’” This stems from an Obama Regime reinterpretation of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The State Department is updating the ITAR, which implements the Federal Arms Export Control Act (AECA). The net effect of this new ITAR amplification would be to reclassify gun blogs, forums, chat rooms, and firearms “how-to” web pages as …


Letter Re: Becoming A Warrior At Gunsite Academy, by J.H.

Hugh, There is no way a civilian can develop the proper mindset, skills, and base of knowledge required to be considered a “warrior” by attending a class for a weekend or even a week. Please do not misunderstand what I am trying to say. Classes like this can be beneficial to an individual as long as they do not leave the false impression that a warrior has been created. This false belief can lead someone to get hurt if they respond with inflated confidence during an actual life-threatening situation. There is no way to become a warrior, unless you make …


Protecting Both Tube and Transistor HF Communications Equipment From E1 EMP Pulse- Part 2, by PrepperDoc

Transistor / QRP Equipment The solutions shown so far may not adequately protect computer-based software-defined radios, hybrid transistorized-vacuum tube radios, or fully solid-state QRP or low-power stations, or transistorized shortwave radios. These radios will need to use protection that clamps at a much lower voltage than 700 volts! While transistor transmitters may use power amplifier transistors that may have breakdown voltages in the scores to hundreds of volts, the input circuitry of many QRP transistorized receivers will likely be fried with voltages well under 100 volts. There are a couple of solutions that can offer lower-voltage clamping more appropriate to …


Protecting Both Tube and Transistor HF Communications Equipment From E1 EMP Pulse – Part 1, by PrepperDoc

Introduction and Tube Radios Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) is a serious national threat with growing public awareness. A high-altitude atomic/nuclear explosion sends electrons plowing through the earth’s magnetic field lines and thus generates powerful radio waves that impact the earth below the explosion within a radius of many hundreds to thousands of miles. The peak field strength is immense, on the order of 50 kilovolts per meter, and covers a very broad frequency spectrum, from very low frequencies, past 100 MHz; but the first wave (named E1) is evanescent, over in a mere microsecond or so. There are additional, slower incident …


Two Letters Re: The Noose is Tightening

HJL, I can confirm Chase has changed their policies. I tried to help a friend by depositing 50 bucks cash in her account, and they said I needed to be a signer on the account. When I asked why, they said it was because of counterfeit bills being deposited into someone else’s account. I thought it was weird that a bank would be concerned with people bringing counterfeit money into a branch. I ended up having to drive the money down to my friend. As I’m writing this, I wonder can you do blind deposits via the drop box anymore? …


Three Letters Re: The Noose is Tightening

HJL, I recommend that readers strive to make deposits and withdrawals via an ATM. There is no opportunity to be interrogated by a teller. I’ve also found that a deposit of a larger value seems to clear faster (i.e. funds available in my account) if I perform the deposit via an ATM. – P.S. o o o HJL, I checked with a friend of mine that works in a small community bank in NJ. She was not aware of the most intrusive questions at all. Income and employer of both to make a deposit plus the other questions they do …


Letter: The Noose is Tightening

HJL, Report from Maryland: I went to the bank today to make a deposit (two medical insurance reimbursement checks). I was informed that I had to show my drivers license or passport to make a deposit. (Up until now ID had to be provided only for withdrawals.) Then, the teller told me I needed to provide personal information: name of employer, annual salary, citizenship of another country or dual citizenship, foreign bank account holdings, and because it is a joint account, I was told to provide the same for my spouse. I’ll let you and others imagine my response. I …


Becoming A Warrior At Gunsite Academy, by J.H.

I had dreams of becoming an armed warrior at a very young age. My father and my uncle put a .22 rifle in my hands after I joined the Boy Scouts, and they asked that I go with them through the woods along the Cahaba River in Shelby County, Alabama. They cared less about sports and preferred that I learn how to survive in a non-urban/non-suburban environment. I believe they were interested in passing along family history as much as anything else. They told me how my ancestors, mainly my great-grandfathers, survived as warriors when they fought in the American …