Category: Survival Mindset

America’s Frontier Counties–One Man’s “Frontier” is Another Man’s Suburbia

In 1890, the US Census Bureau made its pronouncement that America’s western “frontier” was closed. One television program that the Memsahib really enjoys re-watching now and again is the PBS series Frontier House. That led to a discussion of when the frontier officially closed. While researching that, I stumbled into the National Center for Frontier Communities web site. They have a very loose “by consensus” definition of what defines a “frontier” county. This map shows the absurdity of their definition. I suspect that they made the definition loose, so that participants can qualify for government grants. If you look at …


Letter Re: A Clash of World Views–Socialism Versus the Libertarian Ethic

Mr. Rawles: [Your frequent quotes from conservatives such as Thomas Sowell and Austrian School economists] blithely ignore the reality of corporatism, authoritarianism, predation, and entrenched elites. We’ve had our grand experiment in deregulation and the magic of the market, and it’s now perfectly clear where it got us. Why don’t you look up a good quote on the definition of an idealogue [sic] — someone who won’t let go of pretty delusions even when the real world proves the idealogy [sic] wrong. This is where the right wing is today. They want yet more of what has driven this country …


Surviving During the Crisis (Translated from the Energie & Klima Blog)

JWR’s Introductory Note: The following is a re-post from the Energie & Klima Blog, which was kindly translated by SurvivalBlog reader Martyn B., a multi-lingual Danish ex-pat that lives in Spain . To read the original article in German, see: Überleben in der Krise Within the next two years, the price of oil could rise to $150 to $200 per barrel, analysts of the investment bank Goldman Sachs forecasted yesterday under the management of the famous chief analyst, Arjun N. Murti. According to the news agency Bloomberg, the cause is stated mainly as being that the supply of oil cannot …


Letter Re: The Modern Conception of “Hard Work” Versus a Traditional Farmer’s Tasks

Sir: I recently finished trenching and running a few hundred feet of irrigation pipe on land that has been in my wife’s family for a few generations. We are the proud recipients of this small farm in the Southeast US. My Mother-In-Law was helping, and getting various tools and such out of the 100 year old barn (still standing and strong). We found an old hoe that was worn so that over half of the tine was missing. She said that her father and grandfather had used this hoe to manually weed and till every bit of the 50 acres! …


Letter Re: Martial Arts Fact Versus Fiction

Mr. Rawles I just found this blog after checking out Steve Quayle’s web site and links. I must say this discussion is a breath of fresh air. My experience is much different than many who have posted; I have little training in the martial arts, and never been in the military. I don’t even watch those Ultimate Fighting shows. I work with kids in state juvenile facility here on the West Coast of the US. Most of the “residents” as they are called are 14-20 years of age, and usually very aggressive and violent gang members. Unlike adult corrections in …


Letter Re: The Legality and Ethics of Blocking Roads and Bridges After TEOTWAWKI

Sir: I live in an area of the south that is fairly rural. People her still plant gardens, can, hunt, raise livestock and I believe could if need be survive longer than most in a crisis time. Don’t get me wrong I am stocking and preparing for a long term survival and defense possibility. My question is this: The 40 acres I live on is situated on a ridge in this area surrounded by deep flowing rivers,streams and creeks. These water ways separate the area I live and a metropolitan area 80 miles in one direction and another 60 miles. …


Letter Re: As It Was in the Days of Noah

Dear Mr. Rawles, I recently read your novel “Patriots“, which was a very positive experience. For more than a year I have read most anything I can get my hands on concerning survival, as I started feeling led by God in the direction to prepare for something…not knowing what the something may actually be. I recommend buying the “Forever” postage stamps, as a hedge against inflation. [JWR Adds: This is the last week to buy the “Forever” stamps before the upcoming rate increase.] Hurricane Katrina gave my family and I just a small taste of what I am afraid we …


Is Survivalism Just “Unbounded Imagination of Anxiety”?

It never fails that when the mainstream media writes about survivalists, they try to lump us together with racists and tin foil hat whackos. Failing that (since the whackos represent such a miniscule fraction of “survivalists”), they will often trot out a psychologist or other “expert”, to try to convince the general public that preparedness is irrational and that it is evidence of some deep-seated paranoid delusion. This was the case in the recent BBC news article titled: “Do you need to stock up the bunker?”. The article focused on Barton Biggs, who is a well-known and relatively mainstream hedge …


Poll Results: The SurvivalBlog Party Mix

We’ve tallied the 75+ reader responses to our recent poll on your favorite music with a survival or preparedness theme. Based on the responses, I can see that a large number of our readers are rock-‘n-roll fans. The Top 10 tunes mentioned were (in descending order of popularity): 1.) “Silent Running”, by Mike and The Mechanics 2.) “Its The End Of The World As We Know It”, by R.E.M. 3.) “A Country Boy Can Survive” by Hank Williams, Jr. 4.) “Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire (Buffalo Springfield ‘s rendition of the same song was also mentioned.) 5.) “Don’t Fear …


Letter Re: Advice on Finding a Retreat Operations and Security Manual

Mr. Rawles, I have been working on a retreat that I will be moving to later in the year. Naturally, construction is taking up a large amount of my time. My family is on-board for the retreat. I need help in the area of an Operations and Security Manual. Is there anything that you know of that would be a starting place rather than from the ground up? I know there are a lot of things that I would miss out on if I started [by myself] from the ground up, and not know it until it’s too late. I …


Christianity and Physical Preparedness

I occasionally get e-mails from SurvivalBlog readers, asking about how I can justify active preparedness in light of my Christian faith. Some cite the “Lilies of the Field” passage in Matthew 6:25-34: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more …


Letter Re: Networking With Like-Minded Individuals

Mr. Rawles, Did you ever have one of those awakenings where the paradigm you have been living under suddenly shifts and you see things you never saw before (or have learned to filter out as you “matured”)? I am personally experiencing one of those times in my life and I have you to thank for it. Let me bore you a little with my background before I explain how your novel, “Patriots” brought me out of my Rip Van Winkle existence and into the glaring light of my current situation. I caught the “survival bug” early on as a result …


Letter Re: Turning Your Trinkets Into Storage Food

Dear Mr. Rawles, As I was divesting of the useless flotsam one sees as a hindrance to true preparedness, I was inspired to list my trinkets on eBay. (Now, for all those who have a hatred for eBay [because of their anti-gun policies] , this is a separate issue.) I also have a PayPal account. That is another stumbling block to some. But for those of us who are still making the transition to becoming prepared citizens (from their former place in the herd of sheeple), this may be a very viable opportunity. Please hear me out! So, you sell …


Letter Re: Retreat Locales in the Eastern United States

Mr. Rawles: I see that [in your Recommended Retreat Areas page] you only list information for retreat selection in 19 western states. Do you not think other states are worthy of retreat locations? We live on 300 acres in southwestern Missouri (Polks County). Not totally ideal I am sure, but it is home, children and grandchildren are here and more over we feel placed here by our Lord over 35 years ago. I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts pro/con on the state of Missouri so that we might be better prepared. — Paulette JWR Replies: I consider …


Letter Re: Spare Parts Now Available for XD-45 Pistols

Jim: You mentioned that spare parts for Springfield Armory XD pistols have been hard to find. That was the case, up until recently. But now spare XD parts are starting to show up at PistolGear.com. Hover you cursor arrow over “Springfield XD” at the bottom of the window that pops up . There should be a line that reads “XD Factory Parts“. I just got a whole stack of [factory spare XD parts] in the mail last week. There are still some critical parts that are missing, such as the extractor. I have done a lot of business with them …