Am I Crazy?, by Crazy As A Fox

I am a Vice President o a very successful company in the western side of the Midwest.  I am in my early 60s, and after 30 plus years with the company – I will retire in next year or so with no debt, a good retirement plan, stable lifestyle – no worries, right?  So, why do some of those around me think I’m crazy (even me sometimes)?  Here’s my story.   I grew up a farm boy working the family farm with my grandma and grandpa, old school Swede – German homesteaders – milking cows, slopping hogs, baling hay, walking beans, driving tractors, gathering eggs, and yes, shoveling S#%*.  Small rural …




News From The American Redoubt:

America’s conservative heartland–a lot of it is in the Redoubt and Plains states. This map, courtesy of Nick Gillespie of the Hit & Run blog at Reason.com shows just how conservative the American Redoubt congressional districts are, compared to much of the rest of the nation. (The Republican-held congressional districts are shown in red.)    o o o The Free State Wyoming forum was “suspended” about six weeks ago, and the members were unable to contact Boston T. Party or discover any reason for the suspension. So they decided to go ahead and establish another forum, called “Wyoming Mavericks” that …




Safer in the City? Statistics Don’t Lie, But They Can Obfuscate

Several readers sent me a link to a study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania recently published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine that had some surprising results: They concluded that big cities are statistically safer than small towns. This study, titled Safety in Numbers: Are Major Cities the Safest Places in the United States? has a number of flaws. First, it treats deaths by intentional violence equally with accidental deaths and deaths related to the use of alcohol and illicit drugs. This is not quite fair, because the former are not nearly so avoidable as the latter. If …




Letter Re: If Life Gives You Tomatoes, Make Salsa!

Dear James, Regarding the recent contribution from S.M.: If Life Gives You Tomatoes, Make Salsa! I have to question where exactly in Arizona they are. We’ve been in the Phoenix metroplex for eight years and I have to tell you nothing survives 115+ degrees.   Arizona has an amazing array of climates. Most people picture Arizona as the low desert that really only takes up about 1/3 of the state. With elevations anywhere from 300 feet (Yuma area) to 7,000 feet (Flagstaff area) the growing zones really do vary more than you’d think.   I do agree with S.M.’s first …




News From The American Redoubt:

I heard about another Reformed church in Spokane, Washington: Reformation Community Church. The Pastor is Jeremy Lyerla. Phone: (509) 496-0920.    o o o A study shows that the American Redoubt region and much of the Great Plains region now offer the most opportunity for lower class Americans to rise into the middle class. (Thanks to Chris W. for the link.)    o o o Yes, even in Wyoming: Local Wyoming Gun Control Scheme Targets Children’s Rights. (Note that Platte County’s school superintendent is a recent transplant from Minnesota. Also note that school funding is based on days of attendance. …




Letter Re: Risky to Live Near a Small Town Airport?

Dear JWR, I find your blog and its associated advertisers very useful.  In considering buying some land and a small cabin in northern Wisconsin as a back up retreat in case of societal collapse and my question involves its location.  The site can be converted to an off-the-grid living situation easily enough.  It is near the local town so associating with others for mutual assistance is a very good possibility. But it is also near the local rural airport and I’m wondering if in your opinion this increases the possibility of interference by others and by how much?  Perhaps you …




Letter Re: The Quest for Safety: Is Jackson County, Florida America’s Ideal Retreat Locale?

Jim, I recently noticed your recent comparison of Jackson County, Florida, with Lewis, County, Idaho, and the follow-ups posts. I hope I can add some additional information since I attended high school in the county and have many relatives living there. Just as a point of reference my mid-1970s High school graduating class had less than 60 people and only five of them attended and graduated college. I know of only one of those people who still lives there. Youth tend to move away if they can. As poster Kathi indicated, the county is rather closed to outsiders. The only …




News From The American Redoubt:

There has recently been some discussion in the blogosphere of Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground laws. To clarify: All but one of the five American Redoubt states currently have solid Castle Doctrine (right to defend your habitation) laws on the books. These include strong protections of the rights of homeowners and house renters in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. There is also a modified form of the Castle Doctrine in force in Washington as well as a location nonspecific Stand Your Ground law. But Oregon’s law is presently ambiguous. Their “duty to retreat” law enacted in 1971 was partly overturned …




Letter Re: The Quest for Safety: Is Jackson County, Florida America’s Ideal Retreat Locale?

Jim: Regarding your recent comparison of Jackson County, Florida, with Lewis, County, Idaho: I lived in Marianna in 2001 and worked at a bank.  I wouldn’t recommend it at all, as a location to move to, unless you are from the South.  I actually was turned down for [membership in] the local quilt guild because I was from the North, and one business owner told me another time that they just wished we’d come down, drop our money and leave.  It is not a friendly area [to outsiders].  “Paul Revere” needs to recheck his facts. The main employers there are …




News From The American Redoubt:

A reminder: Don’t miss the upcoming Patriots and Self-Reliance Rally at Farragut State Park, near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, July 26, 27 & 28, 2013. There will be several SurvivalBlog advertisers with booths there. The speakers will include Stewart Rhodes, Sheriff Richard Mack, Pastor Chuck Baldwin, Dale Pearce, Kris Anne Hall, and Cope Reynolds.    o o o R.B.S. sent: Idaho cyclist survives scary wolf chase    o o o Troy H. sent this: Montana the first state to pass electronic devices spy law.    o o o For those who have been unable to find a church home (perhaps because …




The Quest for Safety: Is Jackson County, Florida America’s Ideal Retreat Locale?

I recently found a YouTube slide show that is a good example of flawed statistical analysis: Economic Collapse Survival Map – Risk Analysis of best area in United States. In it, you will see how “Paul Revere” narrowed his search down to just Jackson County, Florida. While I’m sure that he was well-intentioned, this gent seems to have assigned undue weight on the factor of year-round crop production. In my estimation, if the power grids go down the key factors in survivability will be population density and proximity to urban areas rather than the ability to grow tomatoes in January. …




Prepping the Texas Cowboy Way, by Sophie

Living in rural Texas has taught me how to live a fuller, deeper life, but with a western twist.  Although the American Redoubt has captured many preppers’ imaginations, I live in Texas by choice.  I’ve traveled the world, visited most states and lived in multiple cities on both coasts, but I choose to call the Texas Hill Country home.  The cowboy way of life is intoxicating. The first time I drove into the small town of Bandera (population 859) and saw cowboys riding horses down Main Street I immediately fell in love.  Many towns in the Texas Hill Country region …




Letter Re: Moving to Ohio’s Amish Country

James, Several years ago my family purchased an Amish farm in a settlement in southeast Ohio. I wanted to share a little about what we have learned because there are currently several Amish farms going on the market in our area which are not advertised anywhere. We are over two hours from any major city and nearly and hour from smaller ones. Our closest village is Woodsfield. We are in an area where Utica Shale is beginning to boom so the Amish are heading out, not wanting to be driving their buggies in the vicinity of big trucks, which I …




News From The American Redoubt:

Several new laws have been enacted in Wyoming. Among others: You can speed while passing    o o o Reader M.J. told me about a great new product that is made in Columbia Falls, Montana. It is a new fly trap called the FlyStop, with a very clever design. It has a suction cup to attach it to windows (where flies are naturally attracted, by light.) Notably, it can be effectively used with or without attractants.    o o o Idaho House Unanimously Passes ‘Enhanced’ Concealed Carry Bill    o o o Someone did a nice job of putting some …




News From The American Redoubt:

Bill Jasper of The New American reports: Victory (Temporarily) in Round 1 for Property Rights in Kootenai County, Idaho    o o o Dissent Festers in States That Obama Seems to Have Forgotten. (Note the high correlation with the map of the American Redoubt. Yes, BHO has visited Oregon and Washington, but as I recall only to a few big cities in their populous western halves.)    o o o J.M. wrote to mention that it is not just Weld County, Colorado that is seeking statehood. “Weld, Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick, Philips, Yuma, Kit Carson Washington are all seeking partition.. A …