Category: Current Events & Politics

Letter Re: Risk of Corruption Rankings–Redoubt States are Unfairly Slammed

James Wesley: Did you see this article: Study ranks Wyoming’s corruption risk as high, and this map? How is it that states like Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming could be so corrupt? That doesn’t seem possible, and it contradicts all my prior research about The American Redoubt. What is you take on this? Thanks, – Kevin L. JWR Replies: The study that they cited was on a perceived potential for corruption (a hypothetically calculated “risk of corruption”). The ratings were skewed, because they were in part based upon the willingness of state governments to report to the Federal government.  Some states …


Letter Re: Canada’s Upcoming Body Armor Bans

Dear James: The body armor ban in Alberta, Canada comes into effect June 15th, 2012.    To summarize, unless you are using Body Armor in your exempted profession, e.g., police, security, etc., etc., you have to get approval to buy, or own Body Armor.  FAQs see:  Body Armour Control Fortunately, there is an exemption for “an individual who has been issued a valid licence under the Firearms Act (Canada)”, and – contrary to the FAQ page above – my reading of the actual law indicates that this exemption for Firearms License holders is not restricted to the scope of your profession.   …


Behind the Green Door of the NSA’s Bluffdale, Utah Enigma

There has been lot of buzz in the press in recent weeks about the NSA’s new “data center” being constructed near Bluffdale, Utah. The selection of Bluffdale, Utah for the site is curious. I suspect that this is more than a data center. Because LDS church doctrine has a strong emphasis on overseas missions, a lot of their young men come home with foreign language skills. And since many LDS church members have squeaky-clean backgrounds, they can usually get through the hurdles of a TS/SSBI clearance without much trouble. Consequently, a lot of Mormons end up with Top Secret clearances …


The Business of Survival: A Look at Growing Trends and 2012, by Scott D.

Introduction This is going to be a landmark year for survivalism. There are a myriad of important societal, political and economic events on the radar that are fueling an expansion of interest in ‘being prepared’. Worldwide economic uncertainty, global political tension with Iran, an election year in the United States, and the approaching social phenomenon associated with December 21st, 2012 all loom. A decade’s worth of catastrophic events including terrorism, large-scale weather disasters and public shootings have only served to bring public uneasiness to a boil. More people are reacting, as sales of food stocks, firearms, and outdoor survival gear …


Letter Re: National Defense Resources Preparedness

JWR, Thank you for posting the article regarding Executive Order-National Defense Resources Preparedness. It was a very illuminating article regarding where our country is currently at economically, politically, and militarily. I understand that some of the vague language used in government documents often allows the government to exercise more power than may be found on the surface of the writing. The best example in this document is, as you pointed out, Section 201b. However, I think we may be getting ahead of ourselves in saying that the government will show up in times of peace and magic away our preps. …


Letter Re: TEOTWAWKI Is Now

James Wesley: It has been said that you can boil a frog to death by putting it in a pan of water then putting the pan over a burner. However, if you drop the frog into a pan of boiling water, it will instantly jump out. I’ve never tried this experiment, but the metaphor for The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI) seems appropriate. Too many of us fit the first scenario. We’re “comfortable,” even though we recognize that the water is getting hotter and hotter. By the time we realize it is way too hot, it …


Guest Editorial: Europe is Toast: Why There are No Good Solutions to the European Debt Crisis

I believe that the Euro Currency and indeed the whole European Union are headed for a Titanic-sized crash. I think this crash will happen in the 2012-13 time frame. I believe that there are no solutions to this crisis without a large amount of pain involved for the people of Europe, and the entire global economy.   First of all, a couple quick explanations are in order. the Euro Currency is the regional currency used by most (but not all) countries in the European Union. the European Union is a political grouping of European nations. There are some E.U. countries …


Letter Re: A Parent’s Guide to Surviving School Rampage Shootings

James: I’m writing regarding A Parent’s Guide to Surviving School Rampage Shootings, by Greg Ellifritz. One important item I think that was missed was allowing any/all adults who choose to do so to be armed.  In the October, 1997 school shooting in Pearl, Mississippi an assistant principal ran to his car, got a gun, and stopped the episode.  Gun free zones give the criminal huge numbers of potential hostages and victims.   The presence of armed folks makes it a bit more difficult for the bad guys to prevail. – W.B.


How You Can Help Defend South Sudan

An event happened last summer that was hardly noticed by the global media. Following a lengthy civil war and free elections, the new nation of South Sudan was born. This fledgling nation has some tough challenges ahead of it. Marauding Islamist guerillas (the Janjaweed) from the north have had an ongoing campaign of burning villages, wholesale murder, and rape. The raiders even still take some slaves. The Janjaweed has been supported by the Sudanese government in Khartoum. After terrorizing Darfur and creating millions of refugees, according to intelligence analysts they are expected to next turn their attention to South Sudan. …


Chased Far From Reality: A Super Bowl Nuke Conspiracy Theorist Run Amok

I feel compelled to respond to some recent disinformation by David Chase Taylor, a fringe conspiracy theorist: Alex Jones Cancels Speaking Tour 3 Days After Exposure As Possible STRATFOR Double Agent. This is an atrocious hatchet piece and a good candidate for a libel or defamation lawsuit. Not only does it unfairly and inaccurately libel Alex Jones, but it attempts to put me in a bad light, as well. To begin, Stratfor is not an “Israeli intelligence agency” nor a “private Zionist intelligence agency” as Taylor claims. It is simply a private intelligence analysis service that covers global events, run …


The Mainstream Media’s Blatant Anti-Preparedness Bias

It seems that any time that there is a crime that involves someone who lives outside of city limits and that owns guns or that lives with any degree of self-sufficiency, then they are immediately branded as a “survivalist.” This label gets slapped on regardless of whether or not the perpetrator has had any training or inclinations toward survivalism. The outlaw Claude Dallas was a prime example. Dallas was an eccentric 19th Century anachronist rather than a survivalist. But the mainstream media uses the label “survivalist”, almost by default any time that a criminal flees into a National Forest, if …


Living Through the Real Estate Crash and Bankruptcy, by Brad C.

My experience with a tax audit, real estate crash, rental house woes, foreclosures, layoff and bankruptcy:   In a nutshell, we went from a 4,000 square foot home, worth more than $1 million, a vacation home, new RV, Mercedes convertible, Jeep, $50,000 SUV, 20 rental properties, a property management company and a great full time job…   To living in a modest rental house in the middle of nowhere. Beginnings I am a computer guy, have been since 1991. I bounced around a few companies gaining positions and knowledge.  Eventually I rode the dot com wave as a security and infrastructure consultant. …


Signs of the Times: What are the SHTF Tipping Points?, by CentOre

One of the most crucial decisions a ‘prepper’ will ever have to make is deciding when to stop preparing, and instead, begin surviving.  This is especially difficult when the life one has still contains the last dregs of normality.  It is difficult to make the decision to G.O.O.D. or Bugout in the absence of actual chaos in one’s normal life.  One reason many preppers move to rural areas and isolated retreats is to exchange space and time for having to make the decision to act, or not act, within a very short time frame.  This essay is about whether the …


Letter Re: Insurance Companies Encourage Immunization Paternalism

<p>JWR:<br>   As a practicing physician, I would like to alert your readers to a new policy which we are beginning to see from our insurance companies.&nbsp; As these companies become increasingly paternalistic, it is important to keep abreast of just what they are requiring, especially since most of these policies are invisible from the subscribers’ viewpoint.&nbsp; What we are seeing specifically is a policy under which we (the physicians) are penalized if parents opt out of vaccines, check-ups or follow-up visits.&nbsp; </p> <p>The key here is that if you opt to follow a vaccine or check-up schedule that differs …


Letter Re: England’s New Leisure Class

Sir, Please see this article published by the BBC here in the UK: Family life on benefits.   In this article Raymond (not his real name) makes a number of statements that clearly define why the benefits system here in the UK is flawed. I’ll include my comments:   “Raymond, a former educational software writer, has been jobless since 2001…. The market for my skills dried up 10 years ago – there’s a total lack of work in my area of expertise.” So why has someone with apparent I.T. skills not retrained to something he can do to earn an …