Notes from JWR:

I was asked about the implications of the recent political power shift in Washington, D.C., following the November 2010 mid-term elections. Although it was generally good news, I must sadly conclude that we’re still in Deep Schumer. Another $600 billion in monetization was just announced by The Fed. And Senator Judd Gregg, (R-N.H.)–a sitting US. Senator–admitted that in a couple of years unless our level indebtedness is decreased, our sovereign debt position will be no better than that of Greece! (But this is mathematically impossible, since our debt is compounding, so the U.S. will be a great big Banana Republic.) Whether the denizens of D.C. shift to a policy of austerity or they continue with bailouts and monetization, and whether the interest rates go up or down, every summary sentence will still end with the words: “…and crashed the economy.” So after celebrating the Republican victory, and bemoaning the continuing Democrat control of the Senate, I recommend that you get practical redouble your family preparedness efforts. We are heading into some very hard times, with plenty of drama. The US Dollar is doomed. There is now virtually nothing that anyone can do to stop it. So get busy: Get out of Dollars, and into tangibles, pronto!

Today we present two more entries for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, B.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and C.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 31 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.