Category: Current Events & Politics

Letter: Composition of Nickels

Hugh, JWR has previously spent some time talking about the conversion of the American nickel to use a different metal content, with predictable results on the value of the existing nickels. I have not seen any discussion of this issue for a long time. Any update? Is it still being planned? – R.H. o o o James, How about an update on the nickel page? Are we still good, or should we be looking for old nickels now? THANKS and God bless!! – K.P. JWR Replies: Surprisingly, the composition of nickels still has not yet changed, but I do expect …


Letter Re: Observations of a Shopkeeper

I did not enjoy logging on to Survival Blog this evening and reading about how ignorant we are according to “R.R.” Can’t he just educate their customers about the safe handling and proper cleaning of a firearm. I just can’t imagine why R.R. would continue selling such deadly weapons to us imbeciles. Please publish the name of your shop so we can know never to bother you there again. Thank you ever so much, – D.R. HJL Responds: I think you have missed the concept that R.R. was trying to portray. I was a scoutmaster for 11 years as my …


Letter Re: Observations of a Shopkeeper

Hugh, This is very helpful information. Some of the comments made me think of something I learned from another person. In everyday life, we deal with three kinds of information. Level 1: Things that we know and are familiar with and do without giving it any thought, such as brushing our teeth. Level 2: Things that we do, but we suddenly realize we need help, so we ask for help or use a manual, such as when changing a part on a vehicle. Level 3: This is the one that will get you killed. Information that we don’t know, and …


Musings of a Law Enforcement Paramedic – Part 5, by a LEO Medic

This is the conclusion of this five-part article, and this section contains information about gear selection, some tips and tricks that I learned along the way, as long as some links to some training videos. Gear Selection I am a huge believer in redundancy. Things break, get dropped, tear, and get lost. When your car is in the shop and you are driving the rental is when you will need the first aid kit you usually keep in the back. Murphy is alive and well. On My Person On my person, pretty much everywhere I go whether on duty or …


Letter Re: Fears for the Future

Hiya Hugh! The letter addressing the changes in people in recent years highlights what has just recently happened in my family. For the last four years, I have been the “Chicken Little” prepper in my family, sounding the alarm, trying to show the warning signs of the impending crash hurtling our way. My family is a conservative family, but they were still asleep when it came to the reality of just how bad things will be for the unprepared. I remember a debate I had with my dad, where he said that if it all went down and people were …


Letter: Observations of a Shopkeeper

Greetings, I write because I wanted to share some observations I have made while working at a tactical shop that sees a large amount of traffic from military, civilians, and police. Some observations on each group when it comes to firearms. Military – The only ones who seem to really have an understanding about handling, maintaining, and the difficulty of using firearms under the stress of combat, are combat veterans. They are humble, eager to give helpful advice, and never have I once heard one of them say they are looking forward to TSHTF so they can waste their neighbors …


Letter: Fears for the Future

Hugh, First let me say “thank you” to you and the staff at Survival Blog for all that you do. I rarely miss your daily posts, and even then it is because occasionally I must work away from home. Second, I wanted to respond to something said in today’s (9/1) post from the pastor from eastern Washington. He commented about how frequent we seem to hear of people’s concerns about our leadership and of the lack of hope, the concern, and despair that seems to be echoed in faces and voices of people around the country. During my work day, …


August In Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins.

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and silver, and we examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. The July closing price for precious metals were: Gold: $1280 Silver: $20.38 Platinum: $1456 Palladium: $870 August began on a Friday, with non-farm payrolls coming in far below expectations. Gold jumped $15 to regain the losses taken on July 31, while stocks tanked 2%, as investors moved into dollars. On the 5th, gold saw a $20 jump on …


Letter Re: NRA’s Commercial

Hugh, I am a pastor in eastern Washington. I spent most of the early evening calling every Christian I know to relate an urgent e-mail request I received for prayer originating from northern Iraq, where a team of volunteers were reporting the taking of their city by ISIS. They were witnessing the systematic beheading of children and known Christians. They were asking for God’s help and strength not to run. After exhausting my address book and spending time on my face, I felt that I should go to SurvivalBlog, as I have done daily for some time. When I saw …


Why I Believe A World-Wide Pandemic Will Bring About Civil War and Ethnic Cleansing in the United States, by S.T.

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A world-wide pandemic is my worst nightmare. I fear a pandemic more than I fear a nuclear war. We have scientists who have already weaponized the flu virus. http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/421-national-security/8630-scientist-weaponizes-flu-strain-in-bioterrorism-experiment The majority of the American population is just nine meals away from anarchy. The government lawmakers– those who are elected to act in the best interest of the citizens of the United States that they represent and to act upon the citizen’s requests and desires– have, for the last 40 odd years, only acted in ways that would: Get themselves elected or re-elected, Get themselves additional campaign contributions, Get themselves time …


Letter Re: Quarantine Procedures for Ebola and Other Diseases at Your Bugout Location

Hi HJL. The article about quarantine procedures is timely and thoughtful. It points out scenarios that have a human element that I bet many have not considered. As a clinician, I would like to add a few points to consider. Quarantine is only necessary for the maximum of the illness’s incubation period. For Ebola, this is 21 days. There is no need to quarantine longer than that. If it is your child, or your sister, it will be much easier to enforce compliance with the quarantine if it is fact-based and not fear-based. It removes all question of bias. The …


Letter Re: U.S. Recon Team Assaults Taliban Position Under Fire

James, Good afternoon from somewhere near Fortress Bragg. Regarding the video you posted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq1wqs1oY8M of the U.S. recon element combat engagement, I viewed the video and come away a bit disheartened. I was especially troubled to see the soldiers not responding to the patrol leader, most using very poor fire and maneuver, IMT (individual movement techniques), and generally a mundane approach to combat. While there is some “cool gear”, there is nothing exceptional in the kit that I was able to spot. What the video tells me, as a regular army officer of 27 years of service (and as a …


Quarantine Procedures for Ebola and Other Diseases at Your Bugout Location, by F.C.

With the most recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, causing the deaths of close to 900 people as of this writing in August 2014, along with reports that some people infected with the disease are now arriving in the U.S., many of us should now be asking this question: In all of my preparedness procedures, how do I protect myself, my family, and others in my bug-out or bug-in location from Ebola and other deadly diseases? What do I do if family and/or friends show up weeks after a full-fledged pandemic has broken out? Do I welcome them instantly …


Guest Article: Another Good Reason to Can, Process, Preserve, and Repackage Your Produce, by R.W.

As if you have not heard enough great reasons to process, can, and preserve your own foods, here is more food for thought (pun intended). I cannot speak to every state in the union, but as for the state I live in there are some very strict rules about what foods can be placed in an “official, non-profit Food Pantry”– a charity often run by a church or other non-profit organization that hands out food to those in need. Here are a few of the draconian rules that apply to organizations that are trying to get food (mostly non-perishables) to …


Letter Re: John Galt

John Galt lives! Those of us that have read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, have an idea of what I’m talking about, but that’s not when it started and that’s not where it will end. I remember from grade school that the pilgrims came to this continent to escape persecution from both church and state. Since then, many of the great minds from around the world have come here to avoid persecution from their country’s leaders. Look at the great minds that have arrived just in the twentieth century. The list is so long there is no way I can mention …