Category: Current Events & Politics

A Legal Review of Secession, 150 Years Later, by Attorney Terry E. Hogwood

Introduction The Civil War [aka War Between The States] (or The War of Northern Aggression, depending on your personal view) ended in 1865. However, the legality of secession by the Southern States simply will not die 150 years after Texas formally seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. As late as May, 2011, secession by part of the State of Arizona from the rest of the State is being proposed. Secession is often bandied about by politicians on both sides of the spectrum but do any of its proponents really understand what secession, from a legal …


Letter Re: Natural Gas Explosion in Indianapolis

Just writing in for the first time to bring an interesting incident to the forefront of the readers minds. It’s been lost in the national news since it happened . Saturday night, November 10, 2012 at just past 11 p.m. an explosion rocked a south Indianapolis neighborhood. Officials immediately cordoned off the neighborhood and started doing sweeps of the debris looking for survivors. In all four houses were totally destroyed, two were wiped to the foundations. Several surrounding homes were damaged beyond repair and 80 homes were damaged. The scene looked like a war zone with the look of a …


Some Observations on Privately Owned Firearms

Washington D.C. is presently all abuzz with talk of the BHO Administration looking for an opportunity to enact the UN’s stalled Small Arms and Light Weapons Treaty. Meanwhile, Senator-For-Life Dianne Feinstein is “consensus building” to reenact the so-called Assault Weapons and “high capacity” magazine ban. (Note that the term “high capacity” is a specious political creation, to wit: A 30 round magazine is standard capacity for an AR or an AK, and anything less than that is a reduced capacity magazine. Get your terminology straight and don’t fall for semantics traps!) Rumor has it that this new incarnation of the …


Letter Re: Experience with a Restrictive State Pistol Permit Process

Jim, Thank you for your ‘forward’ as well as the article: Experience with a Restrictive State Pistol Permit Process. We in New Jersey experience similar issues. A regular citizen cannot even obtain a carry permit here. It is basically limited to retired police and that even has to be basically approved or recommended by their former chief. There are limited others that may obtain like private investigators. Even with the concealed carry for retired police they must pay a yearly fee plus qualify (at an additional cost) as if still a police officer two times per year. It really would …


Letter Re: Four State Constitutional Amendments Renouncing Obamacare

Mr. Rawles, An interesting subtext in the latest elections is the that five states had amendments on the ballots, that attempt to prevent anyone from being required to purchase health care coverage such as Obamacare.   The measures passed in four of these states: Alabama, Missouri, Montana, and Wyoming.   A similar amendment failed to pass in Florida.   While generally a moot point as Federal law trumps (remember the Civil War, anyone)…this is an interesting perspective on the mood in some states. – R.T. JWR Replies: It is not surprising that two of those four states are in The American …


Experience with a Restrictive State Pistol Permit Process, by U.C.

First, I live in South Eastern Connecticut not by choice but due to my military obligations. Second, the day I get out of the military will be the last day I live here. I am heading back out West which is where I lived before I joined the military. Third, I survived Sandy just fine. I ensured I had 4G coverage before the storm: Generator, Gas, Grub and Gallons of water. I guess you could add Guns and make it 5G coverage. On to what I am writing about, the pistol permit process in a liberal / restrictive state. Here …


Hurricane Sandy Hits Home With The Eastern News Media

The preparedness movement in America just got a huge boost with Hurricane Sandy. In effect, the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy vindicated America’s once marginalized survivalists and preppers. It is one thing to talk about major disasters abstractly from a distance, but quite another to live through one yourself. Heretofore, mainstream media reporters have tended to ignore societal fragility and vulnerability issues. But now they’ve felt the impact personally. Our friend Tamara, over at the View From The Porch blog astutely observed that New York City is “the navel of the news media universe.” And the greater New York City region …


Two Letters Re: Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports

Hello, I am a native New Yorker who has lived in the city for more than 30 years. As much as I would like to live elsewhere safer, I still very much love the city and have to remain here because of work and my mother. The recent devastation left by Sandy wreaked havoc in the city. You can read about plenty of details on the hurricane from the news and other posts so I’m just going to keep this post short based on some of the problems encountered that were unique to an urban environment. In addition to the …


Four Letters Re: Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports

Dear Editor: I live in southeastern Connecticut. I am far from wealthy and I live in a section of town while certainly is not what one may consider a ghetto, neither is it in any way “nice”. I would not label myself as a prepper nor a survivalist, instead I have common sense. I have a good stock of food and water, preparations and gear in case I have to leave, not for some cataclysmic disaster but because I live in a world that has hurricanes and natural disasters. Our Governor here in Connecticut recommended that my area evacuate. I did not. Though I am on the coast, …


Letter Re: Will Analog AM and FM Radio Soon Be Phased Out?

James, A friend of mine who is in the know with the FCC told me that in a few years all AM/FM commercial radio stations will be changing from analog to digital broadcast. Most or all AM/FM radios will not work after this is implemented is what he said. Have you heard anything about this and he also told me even the OTA car radios would not work and have to be replaced. I asked him if someone was going to come up with a converter like they did for televisions and he said probably not.  This person is not one …


Four Letters Re: Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports

Hello, I’m a long time reader of your blog and books. I live in Philadelphia. We have a house in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Please look at Seven Mile Island Times and Stone Harbor on Facebook for an idea of our situation there. The whole island was underwater. Our docks washed away and our boat is on the sidewalk, still chained to the trailer.  We lucked out, the house is fine and built high. We still have electricity and water in Philly. What I took away from this experience can be seen in this …


Six Letters Re: Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports

James, I’m located in central New Jersey not far from the Delaware River. In the days prior to the hurricane hitting, everyone packed the supermarkets, warehouse clubs and home improvement stores to stock up. At the home improvement stores, the people who had best luck getting generators were those who purchased them online and selected in-store pickup. There were lines of people 100+ deep from the front of the store to the back waiting for new shipments of generators to arrive. The only people who were guaranteed anything were those who had already purchased and paid online. For those lucky …


Real Wrath of God Stuff: Hurricane Sandy’s Triple Whammy

I’m sure that most SurvivalBlog readers–except those who are without power–have by now seen the amazing photos and videos of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, aka “Frankenstorm.” All of these many images serve as stark reminders that it is the responsibility of individual families to prepare. Government agencies are incapable of providing assistance in a widespread disaster. (In radio interviews. I’m fond of saying that FEMA should more accurately thought of as an acronym for: “Foolishly Expecting Meaningful Aid.”) The hurricane brought with it a triple whammy: high winds, flooding, and power outages. The power outages–which extend 1,000 miles from …


Global Economic Collapse: Causes and Some Potential Outcomes, by C.D.W.T.

I believe the global economy stands on the brink of meltdown. The immediate trigger of this collapse is the European Debt Crisis, but the build up to this catastrophe has been building for years and decades. Three of the major drivers of Global economic growth: the US, Europe, and mainland China , are all on the verge of economic slowdown, if not outright collapse. Usually, if one region of the globe is contracting other regions are growing and able to take up the economic ‘slack’. For the first time in modern history, all regions are slowing at once. This is …


Nine Letters Re: Concealed Carry Permits–Pros and Cons

Jim: I too live in an open carry state where it is also allowed in private vehicles and have chosen not to apply for a concealed carry permit. According to the most recent CDC data, West Virginia has the greatest proportion of homes with at least one gun East of the Mississippi and the fifth highest in the entire country. During a recent discussion with a local LEO, he didn’t even look twice at the 9mm on my hip. We even have two rifles on our flag and the mascot of our flagship university is authorized by state law to …