Category: Current Events & Politics

From Socialist to Survivalist, by an Ex-Canadian

I still have my Canadian citizenship even though I have been married to an American for 15 years and have two “halfer” children, all of whom I drag up north every summer to visit family. As a Canadian I spent most of my life expecting the Government to take care of my essentials (and non-essentials) if I were ever in need or want. After an accident on Government land I had all my outrageous medical needs completely covered. (One aside for those in favor of socialized medicine – real medical emergencies can be expensive and therefore a burden on the …


The Second Amendment–The Ultimate Guarantee of Safety and Liberty

Recently, there was a news story about Senator Harry Reid scoffing at the concept behind the Second Amendment. This illustrates not only how unhinged Reid has become, but also how the mass media, liberal think tanks, and political parties all underestimate and mischaracterize the right to keep and bear arms. It is is our well-armed bedrock culture that under-girds our society, and keep both criminals and tyrants at bay. The Second Amendment is not some obscure an archaic code. It is in actuality the strongest guarantor of our individual liberty. This was made abundantly clear in the 2008 U.S. Supreme …


Cell Phone Outage-Induced Chaos Illustrates an Over-Dependence on Technology

James, The cause of the recent cell phone outage in Kentucky isn’t being stated, but they are appearing to distance themselves from an CME or EMP event. Nevertheless, how much preparedness do most of these AT&T users demonstrate? (This could of course happen with any carrier.) One of my employees who has an AT&T phone said the only number her school age son has to reach her is her cell number, as an example. Why her son can’t have her work number I have no idea. An embedded terrorist cell springing into action and striking a school during such an …


Letter Re: Solar Storms

James, The recent solar storm prediction was not a wake-up call for me, but it was certainly an “oh-no” moment. I am not completely prepared, and I already know it. We are moving to our retreat this weekend. Would we be able to rent a truck if the power went off? Or would I be able to find enough gasoline for multiple trips with my pickup truck? I had also put off some large purchases until after the move. We currently have three months of food on hand. That will increase to one year’s worth after the move. Solar and/or …


How Zombie Banks are Ruining the Future, by James D.

The banks of the world are in a mess, but thankfully they are sorting out their problems. Except that they’re not. In the boom years, banks gave out more and more mortgages to riskier and riskier home owners, with the understanding that if things turned really bad, these mortgages would be terrible loans that would lose a fortune. So when things did turn bad and the home owners could no longer pay for the mortgages, these mortgages bankrupted the banks that gave them out. Except they didn’t. The problem with mortgages for banks is that they don’t know how bad …


Changes for 2011, The Taxman Cometh

Recent news articles about U.S. tax law changes have prompted dozens of SurvivalBlog readers to contact me with their concerns. Some of these e-mails asked me for advice on how to minimize the impact of these tax law changes. First let’s go over the changes in the tax law that have been announced: 1.) The Federal income tax rates are increasing starting with tax year 2010, with the top tax rate jumping to 39.6%. Meanwhile they are reinstituting the death tax, creating higher capital gains taxes, and the elimination of some exemptions for people that are married and for those …


The Off-Grid Dream, by J.S.L.

I have endeavored to set my own off-grid plan into place. This is easier said than done. A machinist by trade, unemployed by government design, it is becoming more difficult to find the capital to go off-grid. Since late 2007 the job market in my area has collapsed. The only way to find employment is through a “temp” agency and the two jobs I have been lucky enough to get only lasted a few months each. What is worse is the fact that many employers are now engaging in discrimination against those of us that are unemployed, i.e. “unemployed need …


Letter Re: The ABA’s Projections for the U.S. Economy

Jim: Greetings and my Compliments. I have just returned from a training meeting my employer, USDA-Rural Development. It was presented by the American Bankers Association. Bottom line, the ABA is projecting the economy not to bottom out until late in 2014. With over 90 banks already closed (in 2010) and some 775 on the the "Troubled" list, things do not look good. The troubled list has a projected 70 percent failure rate. Keep up the good work. We have a long way to go. May God Bless and keep you and your family. – Lame Wolf


Letter Re: Observations on a Gunfight in Montana

Jim: Take a look at a one-minute a video of a routine nighttime DUI stop in Hamilton, Montana that turned ugly. Listen for the first “click” as the suspect attempts to fire his .41 Magnum revolver about two inches from the officer’s nose. The “click” is the hammer dropping on an expended round in the cylinder. The second round was live, but Officer Jessop had by then recovered and made a strategic move to the rear of the vehicle, buying more time and a much more advantageous position for a firefight. He tossed his flashlight so he could use both …


Letter Re: Finding a Job in Depressed Economy

Good Afternoon, Jim, What can Christian people do if they have lost their income when the economy crashed in October 2008 and they still have limited funds? I am a professional and the market I serve is in decline. Suggestions? I have applied to hundreds of jobs with no reply. Thanks, – Paul S. At this point, the prospects for economic “recovery” seem remote, especially with the planned tax increases (January 1, 2011) and the inevitability of higher interest rates. I recommend that you start your own business, in something recession/depression proof. Look through the 75+ SurvivalBlog articles in the …


Letter Re: Implications of the National Strike in India

Sir, I logged a computer help desk report today after the auto update system deleted my sound card. I was annoyed with my computer and irritated when the India based call-taker misheard what I was saying. He apologised saying he had been on at work very early today. We continued the call and I casually asked what time he had started in the morning. He went on to tell me they had stayed overnight in the office due to a national strike in India. He had started at 5am, it was now 1pm and although he was due to finish …


Letter Re: Jim Rickards Comments on “The Financial Equivalent of the Atomic Bomb”

Hi Mr. Rawles, King World News featured an interview with James Rickards, Senior Managing Director at Omnis, Inc. and Co-Head of the firm’s practice in Threat Finance & Market Intelligence. The audio is linked within, as is the Jim Rickards article it stems from. Here are some excerpts: “There are legitimate concerns over the safety of citizens in the event of a financial collapse in the United States where confidence is lost and the dollar plunges. We are mired in a depression, and the central planners continue to look for solutions to keep the monetary system from completely buckling. In …


Letter Re: The Stamp of Idiocy

James: Here in Michigan Food Stamps are paid electronically to each person’s account. The recipients are then issued a card to pay for their purchases. The card has a picture of the Mackinac Bridge on the front so they are referred to as “Bridge Cards.” The Mogambo Guru’s Stamp of Idiocy article states that over 40 million people receive Food Stamps. This is scary to think about. But a few of my observations makes one wonder how many people actually deserve the benefits. When I picked my daughter up from school last month both my wife and I were appalled …


Is Modern Society Doomed to Collapse? Understanding the Complexity Trap

I’ve often written in SurvivalBlog about the over-dependence of modern societies on technology. Our level of dependence on high technology is large, and steadily growing. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle summed up over-dependence on technology in their novel Lucifer’s Hammer: “Whole nations depends on technology. Stop the wheels for two days and you’d have riots. No place is more than two meals from a revolution. Think of Los Angeles or New York with no electricity. Or a longer view, fertilizer plants stop. Or a longer view yet, no new technology for ten years. What happens to our standard of living? …


Letter Re: The 50 States are Getting Desperate for Revenue!

Hello Mr. Rawles, I thought you might be interested in an article about New York state’s 12th consecutive weekly package of emergency spending bills “to keep the government operating.” This bill will raise the price of cigarettes to over $11 a pack in New York, as well as taxing the cigarettes sold by American Indian stores to people outside the tribe. The last time New York tried the latter was in the late 1990s, and it met with violent protests. They haven’t tried it since, so you know that they’re getting desperate! – E.