Category: Emerging Threats

Four Letters Re: The Thin Blue Line

JWR, [In his article “The Thin Blue Line”,] Deputy W. makes a very good observation about the tipping point when law enforcement retreats to protect their own families. This situation has occurred twice in recent history here in the U.S., during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992 and most recently in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina. I lived through the riots in L.A., as well as two earthquakes and would like to share some of what I learned from this experience. The fact I want to impress on SurvivalBlog readers is that they will …


Inflation, Taxes, and Self-Sufficiency

I recently received an e-mail from T.F. in Utah, who quipped: “They tell us that inflation is now non-existent. Well, how many years of deflation will it take to get prices back to where they once were? It is noteworthy that the average annual property tax on a house on a city lot now exceeds the entire land purchase price and construction cost of a comparable square footage house, in 1890.” Inflation is indeed insidious. And its has implications that are far-reaching. For example, consider the following: Creeping tax increases one of the reasons that it is now nearly impossible …


The Thin Blue Line, by Deputy W.

The “Thin Blue Line”. It describes something much greater than the title of a second rate movie. It describes the thin blue line of civilian law enforcement officers that is the only thing that separates America from utter chaos. It is not too difficult to imagine what would happen if that thin blue line were to disappear or become overwhelmed. A scary thought indeed, but one that you are already thinking about since you are reading SurvivalBlog. Yet, we are alarmingly close to just such a scenario. As most readers of SurvivalBlog know, our modern Western society is extremely complex, …


Letter Re: CNN to Air I.O.U.S.A. Today and Tomorrow

James, This coming weekend, CNN will broadcast a program called I.O.U.S.A. It’s a documentary about the United States debt – which is out of control, an expose on just how bad our current economic crisis is. Karen and I believe that becoming educated about what is possibly the biggest problem in our lifetimes – is critical. So we write this email to you today hoping you’ll watch this program and get involved. If we sit idly-by and watch from the sidelines as our Federal Government continues to spend our hard earned tax dollars – in an out of control fashion, …


Letter Re: Observations on Preparedness from a Gulf Coast Hurricane Veteran

Mr. Rawles, I just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed your site. I had no idea that there were whole survivalist communities out there until I stumbled on a link by accident. In fact, I didn’t really know that I fit into that category myself. My wife and I live on the Gulf Coast and we discovered the hard way during Hurricane Rita that a bag of trail mix and a bottle of water, was not preparing to evacuate. Eighteen hours in traffic in a hundred and fifty mile traffic jam taught us to find the …


Letter Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Jim, After reading the recent letters about home invasion robberies, I’ve gotten a little paranoid about the idea of someone kicking in my front door in the middle of the night. It would be incredibly easy to do and it’s unlikely I could retrieve a firearm quickly enough to defend (I have a toddler so all guns are locked up except a pistol, which my wife doesn’t know is in Condition 3 in a drawer too tall for my daughter to reach). The Strikemaster II is out of budget (I need three of them) so I looked into having similar …


Our 2009 Predictions, by Roger Wiegand

We think we now have enough data from both the fundamentals and technicals to make some serious forecasts and predictions for 2009. While 2008 was a nasty year when lots of things imploded, they are far from being repaired. Treasury Secretary Paulson told us this week there are no more surprises, which tells me we haven’t even discovered but a small portion of this monster derivative mess. His ripping-off of the taxpayers to the tune of $700 billion is only a warm-up. However, the larger question for traders and investors is what could happen next and when. In the following …


Letter Re: The U.S. Expatriation Exit Tax

Hi JWR, Here’s another one for your readers. I’d heard of this “exit tax” a few months ago and it was completely ignored by the mainstream media (MSM). At first blush, it doesn’t appear to impact most people, i.e. only those over $4 million USD net worth for couples who renounce U.S. citizenship and leave. However, we all know how well the alternative minimum tax (AMT)–the so-called millionaire’s tax–worked out. It was supposed to affect only several hundred tax “scofflaws”, and now because of inflation, millions of citizens are affected. A few years of 50% inflation will put most professional …


Two Letters Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Jim, I have not yet seen mention of “air locks” as a security layer for entry doors. Many years ago I managed a software project that included doing installs at armored car companies. The visitor entrance had you go in one set of doors to a small holding room. Here a security receptionist behind thick glass and gun ports could identify you and hold you until they were ready. Only then could you enter a second set of doors into the main facility, which would be analogous to an inner courtyard in a residential estate (i.e., an open area surrounded …


The MOAB Expands Yet Again: Five State Governors Seek $1 Trillion from Uncle Sugar

Back in November I reiterated my point that the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) would know no limits. One of my specific warnings was: “The States – Some 29 of the 50 states are reporting budget crises. Lo an behold, most of the hardest hit states are those with bloated Nanny State bureaucracies. No surprise there. The states that had the worst fiscal management, of course, will get the biggest share of the taxpayer funds. Those that were fiscally conservative will get nothing.” A recent wire service headline confirmed that prediction: U.S. governors seek $1 trillion federal assistance.The article begins: …


Six Letters Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Greetings Mr. Rawles, I read your blog everyday and am learning so much. Thanks for your dedication to helping prepare us for the future. In reference to the recent article on home security, we lived in Argentina for three years and we could all learn from their security measures. The first house we lived in had steel shutters, as did everyone in the neighborhood, and they were all shut at night. The doors have locks that automatically lock when you leave the house. The small front yards usually have tall steel fences with the same height gates. The gates were …


From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Inflation–Past, Present, and Future

It has been said that nothing is inevitable except death and taxes. But personally, I add inflation to that list. Inflation is an insidious hidden form of taxation We’ve been robbed! According to The Inflation Calculator, what cost $100 in 1905 would cost $2052.36 in 2005. The U.S. dollar has lost 95% of its value in that time. (If you were to buy exactly the same products in 2005 and 1905, they would cost you $100 and $4.87 respectively.) The inflation rate jumped considerably in the 1960s and 1970s. It is no coincidence that the U.S. Treasury stopped minting real …


Two Letters Re: What Are the Best Magazines for Investment?

Jim Here’s my feeling on what pistol mags to obtain. Obviously, if you have a high capacity handgun, it behooves you to have at least ten mags for it. I actually have 30 Glock Model 19 mags since I already have one and contemplate picking up another that a friend wishes to sell. I’m also trying to pick up Glock 17 mags, even though they stick out the bottom of my G19. I really want a Glock 34 long slide 9mm, and figure that the only way I may be able to get mags for it down the road is …


Letter Re: What Are the Best Magazines for Investment?

Dear JWR: I took your wise advice posted in the blog back in October and stocked up on magazines for all my guns. I ‘ve even bought some mags [for other guns] that I just plan to buy, such as M14 magazines for my eventual super match M1A buy. But what I’m thinking is, I should also do is by even more magazines just “on spec”, knowing that with Obama coming in[to office, that] a ban of some sort is more likely that not. What types/model high capacity magazines would be best to invest in, for the most possible gain? …


Fear and Loathing in America’s Age of ZIRP

You’ve surely heard by now that the Federal Reserve has effectively lowered interest rates to zero. Obviously having learned nothing from the mistakes of Japans’s decades-long recession, Ben Bernanke & Company have instituted their own Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP). By artificially lowering interest rates, many economists predict that the Fed will actually delay economic recovery for many years. ZIRP was a failure for Japan, and I predict that it will be a spectacular failure for the United States. The Fed could, in fact, lower interest rates below zero, to the so-called “Super Zero” range. Such absurdities are not impossible …