Economics and Investing:

DD sent this article: 23 metro areas where the recession is finally coming in for a landing. It includes a fascinating animated state-by-state map showing waves of recession since 1994. Pay no attention to their conclusions about incipient recovery. They are dreaming! The current recession is not a typical dip in the business cycle. It was caused by a collapse of the global credit market. This will last a long time, and may very well become a full-blown depression.

Reader KAF flagged this: CIT collapse could ripple through retail industry. They are already begging for a Federal bailout.

SurvivalBlog regular Karen H. sent us these links:

Obama’s Stimulus Plan Slow to Trickle Through Economy “For the moment, the initial measure has shown little impact. The net worth of households has fallen almost 22 percent, by almost $14 trillion, since 2007, to the lowest level in five years.”

California’s budget gap won’t close for long. “It will be horrible next year,” said economist Steve Levy of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy.

GG spotted this Tass news agency article: Russia’s GDP reduces by over 10% in 1st half 2009

Odds ‘n Sods:

The BATFE apparently can’t understand the plain meaning of the 10th Amendment. Without citing any genuine justification, the ATF is dictating to manufacturers and dealers to ignore the newly-enacted state law. But in actuality, they should ignore the ATF. Federal jurisdiction over FFL-licensed manufacture and sale of firearms is based on the which established Federal jurisdiction over interstate commerce. If a gun doesn’t cross a state line then that is intrastate commerce, and hence outside of Federal jurisdiction. The ATF director needs to read the Tenth Amendment, and the precedent-setting Lopez decision, and take a chill pill. No nexus means no jurisdiction. American gun owners: Tell the Feds to take a hike!

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From Karen H.: Ahmadinejad: Iran will “bring down” Western foes

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Cheryl sent this one: Potato fungus update. (Cheryl says: “I’m having a similar problem with my tomatoes as are some surrounding neighbors.”)

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Reader MK sent us a link to an article about onPoint Tactical‘s training: Survival School: Why more Americans are learning to pick locks, bust out of handcuffs, and avoid surveillance

News from Nanny State Britannia: Kent Police clamp down on tall photographers and UK Police Raid Party After Seeing “All-Night” Tag On Facebook (Thanks to Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) and Andrew D., respectively, for hose two links.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“You can say ‘stop’ or ‘alto’ or use any other word you think will work, but I’ve found that a large bore muzzle pointed at someone’s head is pretty much the universal language.” – Clint Smith, founder of Thunder Ranch

Oh, Henry! Worried About TEOTWAWKI?

A recent news headline in the English newspaper The Independent caught my eye: Paulson reveals US concerns of breakdown in law and order. I only rarely post entire newspaper articles. But this article is particularly significant to the SurvivalBlog readership, and since it is brief, I’m posting it in full:

The Bush administration and Congress discussed the possibility of a breakdown in law and order and the logistics of feeding US citizens if commerce and banking collapsed as a result of last autumn’s financial panic, it was disclosed yesterday.

Making his first appearance on Capitol Hill since leaving office, the former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson said it was important at the time not to reveal the extent of officials’ concerns, for fear it would “terrify the American people and lead to an even bigger problem”.

Mr. Paulson testified to the House Oversight Committee on the Bush administration’s unpopular $700bn (£426bn) bailout of Wall Street, which was triggered by the failure of Lehman Brothers last September. In the days that followed, a run on some of the safest investment vehicles in the financial markets threatened to make it impossible for people to access their savings.

Paul Kanjorski, a Pennsylvania Democrat, asked Mr. Paulson to reveal details of officials’ concerns, which were relayed to Congress in hasty conference calls last year. The calls included discussion of law and order and whether it would be possible to feed the American people, and for how long, according to Mr. Kanjorski.

“In a world where information can flow, money can move with the speed of light electronically, I looked at the ripple effect, and looked at when a financial system fails, a whole country’s economic system can fail,” Mr. Paulson said. “I believe we could have gone back to the sorts of situations we saw in the Depression. I try not to use hyperbole. It’s impossible to prove now since it didn’t happen.”

The Oversight committee is investigating the takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, a deal forged in the desperate weekend that Lehman Brothers failed, and which later required government support because of Merrill’s spiraling losses.

Mr. Paulson defended putting pressure on Bank of America when it had last-minute doubts about the deal in December. Not to have done so could have rekindled the “financial havoc” the bailout had calmed.

(Special thanks to the publishers of The Independent.)

Hmm… This is certainly food for thought and grounds for further research. It notable to see the difference between public statements and what actually goes on behind closed doors. Compare the foregoing testimony with these excerpts from Paulson’s widely-circulated press release on October 14, 2008:

“America is a strong nation. We are a confident and optimistic people. Our confidence is born out of our long history of meeting every challenge we face. Time and time again our nation has faced adversity and time and time again we have overcome it and risen to new heights. This time will be no different…

…President Bush has directed me to consider all necessary steps to restore confidence and stability to our financial markets and get credit flowing again. Ten days ago Congress gave important new tools to the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC to meet the challenges posed to our economy. My colleagues and I are working creatively and collaboratively to deploy these tools and direct our powers at this disruption to our economy.

Today we are taking decisive actions to protect the US economy. We regret having to take these actions. Today’s actions are not what we ever wanted to do – but today’s actions are what we must do to restore confidence to our financial system…

…While many banks have suffered significant losses during this period of market turmoil, many others have plenty of capital to get through this period, but are not positioned to lend as widely as is necessary to support our economy. Our goal is to see a wide array of healthy institutions sell preferred shares to the Treasury, and raise additional private capital, so that they can make more loans to businesses and consumers across the nation. At a time when events naturally make even the most daring investors more risk-averse, the needs of our economy require that our financial institutions not take this new capital to hoard it, but to deploy it…

…These three steps significantly strengthen financial institutions and improve their access to funding, enabling them to increase financing of the consumption and business investment that drive U.S. economic growth. Market participants here and around the world can take confidence from the powerful actions taken today and our broad commitment to the health of the global financial system.

We are acting with unprecedented speed taking unprecedented measures that we never thought would be necessary. But they are necessary to get our economy back on an even keel, and secure the confidence and future of our markets, our economy and the economic well-being of all Americans.

By December of 2008 Paulson was browbeating Bank of America’s CEO Ken Lewis into a shotgun wedding with Merrill Lynch. Paulson now claims he did so, in part, because he was worried about a banking meltdown and the possibility of what we would call TEOTWAWKI. Perhaps he was reading too much SurvivalBlog, or someone gave him a copy of my novel and he was losing sleep over it.

What is to be learned from all this? Here is Rawles Axiom #1 on Political Awareness: Don’t trust or even pay much attention to what public officials say. Instead, concentrate on what they do, and more importantly on the subsequent results and consequences of what they do. Words don’t mean much to politicians. They all too frequently tailor their words to match their particular audience, with little regard to honesty or forthrightness.

If you think that I’ve over-reacted to the preceding cited quotes, take a moment to consider that this is the same Henry Paulson that had publicly declared just a few months before (on March 16, 2008): “I’ve got great confidence in our financial market, our financial institutions. Our markets are resilient and flexible. Our institutions, our investment banks are strong,”

Two Letters Re: Savings and Self-Sufficiency with Homemade Laundry Detergent

Hello Mr. Rawles,
I love the Blog! Here is a tip for those readers who would like to save money and their backs by following Carla’s soap recipe. Since I have a cat, I have been using the bargain basement cat litter that come in rectangular HDPE buckets. Rather than throw them out, why not save money by not buying 5 gallon buckets? Of course, one needs a cat owner who uses this product, but with the mess this economy is in, frugal relatives, friends and neighbors may have some. One could make up a smaller batch of her detergent, it would be easier to move around the laundry room, ( thus saving wear-and-tear on the back), they have re-sealable lids and carrying handles, and they are square! These are not safe for food storage, but I have used them for tool carrying, ammo storage (since the Federal government seems to be destroying surplus ammo cans), and other uses. And since square containers pack into trunks and the rear of Bug-Out Vehicles (BOVs) better than round containers, thus freeing up space, they may allow you to carry that little bit of extra gear when you need to Get Out of Dodge G.O.O.D. They also stack Vertically! This may sound like a trivial thing, but as a former U.S. Navy Submariner who served aboard two different Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) subs, I know the importance of using every square inch of space. And a penny saved is a silver dime bought! Hope this sparks other ideas for these containers among the readers. God’s blessings on you and your House. – Bubblehead Les

 

Dear JWR:
I am a new reader to survival blog and glean new info daily. We are making preparations slowly to Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.), ASAP! Fortunately we do not have jobs to hold us down (husband is self employed and trying to start a web business) and I homeschool and raise our six kids. Unfortunately, the income is not steady and with 6 kids, we do not have as much money as we would like. But with God leading, anything is possible.

The reason for this letter is to add something to the very interesting article about the homemade laundry soap. I have been making our own soap for months now. But there is a way to make it in powder form if you prefer powder detergent:

1 bar Fels Naptha (or 2 bars of Ivory)
1 C Washing soda
1 C Borax

Grate the soap finely. You don’t want big chunks. I use a hand grater, but I suppose you could use a food processor [that is designated for only non-food purposes]. This part takes a long time and is labor intensive.
Then add a cup each of the washing soda and borax. Mix well. I put it into a large plastic freezer bag for compact storage. Add 1 Tablespoon to each load, and get nice clean laundry.

A few things to be aware of: your soap won’t suds up at all. That does not mean you have to add more soap. And clean clothes smell like nothing. You don’t need added scent for clean clothes like most commercial laundry soaps. Also, if you want a softener, then add about a quarter cup of vinegar to the rinse. Your clothes won’t smell like vinegar, but they will be nice and soft. You won’t need a dryer sheet, either.

One last thing: Fels Naptha is a laundry bar. Meaning you can just rub the soap on a stain and watch it come out in the wash. I have tried it, and it does work. So buy an extra bar for stains instead of expensive pre-treaters like Oxy Clean. One bar will last a long time! – Anita

Economics and Investing:

Reader Greg C. sent this: Larry Summers, White House Economic Advisor, cites Google search as progress. Greg’s comment: “If this White House thinks that determining the fitness of the economy is as simple as looking at what people search for on Google, then we are in bigger trouble than we originally thought. I wonder if they are looking at how many people are searching for ‘Economic Meltdown’ or ‘Revolution?'”

Thanks to Mark N. for this: The Next Global Financial Crisis: Public Debt. “The cloud of the global financial meltdown has not even cleared, yet another crisis of massive proportions looms on the horizon: global sovereign (public) debt.”

Frequent content contributor “DD” sent these items:

Is Wal-Mart the new Target?

Desperation Marketing: Christmas in July at K-Mart and Sears

Recession hits Harley-Davidson, Marriott (Harley’s net income plunges 91%!)

Items from The Economatrix:

The Long-Term Budget Outlook

JPMorgan 2Q Profit Jumps 36%, Topping Forecasts. Cheryl’s comment: “It takes money to make money, so they took our money and made their money.” [Taxpayer money, that is.]

Where’s The Outrage Over AIG’s Latest Bonuses?

CIT Seeks Private Funds to Avoid Collapse

New Jobless Claims Down Sharply Last Week

Odds ‘n Sods:

F.G. alerted me to this article: Companies are now shorting (cheating) on propane tank refills.

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Linda P. pointed out a closeout sale on Bennington Flags (the official SurvivalBlog low-key meetup flag), at FlagGuys.com.

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Craig W. spotted this article from San Diego, California: They Carry Guns. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Much like a muscle that atrophies with disuse, any right that goes unexercised for many years devolves into a privilege, and eventually can even be redefined as a crime.

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A legislative alert from Gun Owners of America: A vote to protect your right to travel out-of-state with a firearm could come to a vote next week — even as early as Monday (July 20th)! Senators John Thune and David Vitter are the sponsors of S. 845 — a bill that will establish concealed carry reciprocity amongst the several states.This bill is being offered the bill as an
amendment (#1618) to the Department of Defense authorization bill (H.R. 2647). This provision will use the constitutional authority allowing Congress to enforce “full faith and credit”
across the country, so that each state respects the “public acts, records, and judicial proceedings” of every other state (Article IV). The benefit of the Thune/Vitter legislation is that —
unlike other, competing measures — it would protect the right of any U.S. citizen to carry out of state (regardless of whether he possesses a permit), as long as he is authorized to carry in his home state. This is important because of states like Vermont and Alaska, where residents can carry concealed without prior approval or permission from the state… in other words, without a permit!
Please urge your Senators to vote yes on the Thune/Vitter concealed carry reciprocity amendment and no on any modifying amendments.

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 23 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

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 foods, courtesy of Ready Made Resources.

Second Prize: 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 $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 23 ends on July 31st, 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.

Savings and Self-Sufficiency with Homemade Laundry Detergent, by Carla

What would make someone want to make their own laundry detergent? It is so convenient to go to the store and get a ready made, nicely package, conveniently mixed, nice smelling, make your clothes fresher and your life better if you use me, laundry detergent. My husband and I have always had a preparedness mentality-we live 10 miles from a grocery store and 20 miles from a Wal-Mart. You don’t just run up the street to buy a roll of toilet paper. We prepared for Y2K and have always thought “what if.” We don’t worry, for we know God is in control and is truly the provider, but feel he leaves it up to us to do the leg work.

[Some deleted, for brevity]

Not only am I preparing for my family, but I have neighbors that will ultimately need some help, extended family members that are not in the position financially to be able to stock up and hopefully enough to barter if necessary. So as I buy, it is on my mind “How far will this go to feed possibly 10-to-15 people?” Soup ingredients, meat extenders, et cetera are some of the things that will help to feed a lot on a little. Not wasting the money we have and are trying to save up, making sure I spend wisely for the money is of utmost importance.

I started looking for ways to “substitute” my own homemade items for those that we normally buy. Homemade mixes for Bisquick, brownies, rice mixes, etc., anything that saves money is on my lists. One of the most expensive-even though I would lean to the least expensive side-was laundry detergent. It is an item where you are literally throwing your money down the drain. I began to look on the web for ways to make my own, and lo and behold I came across a lot of formulas. I started making my own and have passed the recipe to many friends. They can’t thank me enough! It is as good and in my humble opinion, better than the most expensive store-bought laundry detergent. When you figure the costs savings, it is outstanding! Even if you are not “into” preparedness, it is just a great way to save money in these harder times. I find my ingredients at the local Kroger’s [grocery] store and one of the items can be bought at Wal-Mart, but for the few cents savings, unless I am going there for many more items, the time factor and extra mileage, it is just not worth it. Trying to buy laundry detergent in bulk, the storage problem and costs factor, is really diminished by making your own. I have tweaked the use part of this recipe to suit me, but will give you the total information and then let each decide on their own.

Homemade Laundry Detergent — Makes Enough for About 180 Loads

1 Bar – Fels Naptha soap ($1.29 for a 5-1/2 ounce bar)
1 cup – Washing soda $3.99 55 ounce box (do not confuse this with baking soda)
1/2 cup – Borax ($3.49 for a 76 ounce box on sale price, regular price is $3.99) This is the old 20 Mule Team brand, and this can be found at Wal-Mart.)
1 – 5 gal. HDPE plastic utility bucket with lid. These are often available free from bakeries, or approximately $4-tio $5 at [Sam’s Club or] Wal-Mart, or your local paint store)

Grate the Fels Naptha soap into small pieces. You can chop it with a knife, cheese grater, or food processor. Heat four quarts of water in a large, heavy saucepan on top of stove and add soap, stirring constantly till melted. This will take a while depending on the size of your grated pieces. Meanwhile, fill the five gallon bucket half full with warm water. Add the 1 cup of washing soda and the 1/2 cup of Borax and stir well. When soap is melted pour into bucket, then continue to fill bucket with warm water until full. Stir well and let sit overnight until cool. This “concentrate” will thicken as it sits. Stir before using. Now, I use this concentrate straight out of the bucket and use 1/3 cup per large load. The original instructions said to save an old laundry detergent container, fill half full with concentrate then add water to top. Shake and use 5/8ths cup per large load. Repeat till your concentrate is gone. This will give you 10 gallons of laundry detergent. That just seemed more trouble than necessary. So I use the concentrate as-is. No need to have to make room for another container. You will have enough leftover soda and Borax to make approximately five more buckets of detergent. You will have to buy more soap. The costs for one 5-gallon bucket (not including the bucket) is approximately $2.40. If you compared that to the expensive brand of concentrate @ $20.00 per container, just think of the savings and that is if your store bought container makes 180 loads! Since I don’t buy the twenty dollar Tide brand, I’m not sure if that is for 180 loads, so the savings could be a lot more. $14.40 for a total of six 5-gallon buckets compared to $120 for six containers of Tide 2X concentrate. In a small space, enough to hold 1 box of Borax, 1 box of washing soda and 6 bars of Fels Naptha you can have better cleaning power than six containers of store bought laundry detergent. This will also save more than $100!

I have a niece that uses Ivory bar soap, which is cheaper than the Fels Naptha and is totally pleased with her product. The Borax and washing soda have many other household uses also, as the detergent would not. Making my own has gotten me hooked on doing many other things for myself. Why pay someone to do the mixing? It would be nice to put the savings into a jar, but there are too many other things that we need to get ready for when TEOTWAWKI comes along. It is good to look at my pantry that God has provided and know that my family will not go hungry. We can stay clean, one of the most important factors in hard times, thanks to many of the good articles that you have on the blog.

I just read today about using a 5 gallon bucket and making a washing “machine.” We have many things that we still need, but are working on acquiring and every time there is a new entry marked off the list, it gives us a sense of security knowing that is one thing we won’t have to worry about. We have encouraged others that we know are capable to do likewise. Not necessarily because they believe [in disaster preparedness] as we do, but to just be good stewards of what the Lord has given us. Whether it is an ice storm, which we have made it through several times comfortably, or tornado damage and electricity out for 4-to-5 days, we can survive easily. I’m thankful for all you folks who are teaching me what to do and how to do it. Saving money in small ways makes it easier to acquire more of the needful things. – Carla

Two Letters Re: Recommendations on Discreet Self Defense Weapons and Training

Jim,
First, here’s a link to an article on self defense considerations in Britain.

I prefer a variation on the pocket stick known as a koppo stick. A koppo stick is a pocket stick with a piece of cord that loops around the outside of the ring and middle fingers. This cord helps with stick retention and allows for open hand and gripping techniques.

I usually carry my koppo in my weak hand at the ready. This frees up my strong hand to draw my primary weapon and the cord retention system allows the weak hand to perform other tasks such as slide manipulation. Planned use of the stick is for primary weapon retention and to gain enough time/space to draw the primary weapon (if available and warranted).

Here is a page on how to convert a pocket flashlight into a koppo stick.

Here’s the LED flashlight that I converted (available through Sears):

Finally, here’s a YouTube video on the subject.

Enjoy! – Rick H.

 

Dear Mr. Rawles,
I’ve got something for the guy in suburban London. England is a rainy area – isn’t´t it? So try this unbreakable umbrella.

And here´s something on video about how to use canes for self-defense.

Thank you! – Joe B.

Economics and Investing:

Some impeccable logic from Vice President Joe Biden: ‘We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt’

From Greg C.: Foreclosures at record high in first half 2009 despite aid

Frequent content contributor Karen H. sent the following items:

Port of Long Beach imports down 28.4%

Foreclosures rise 15% in the first half of 2009

Dem health RX a Poi$on Pill in NY – Terrifying 57% Tax looms for biggest earners.

Social Security spends $700,000 on Phoenix Conference

Industrial Production down 13.6%

Map of Hardest Hit Regions of Unemployment in the U.K.

CIT moving toward bankruptcy.

Verleger Sees $20 Oil this Year on ‘Devastating’ Glut “Crude oil will collapse to $20 a barrel this year as the recession takes a deeper toll on fuel demand, according to academic and former U.S. government adviser Philip Verleger.”

Items from The Economatrix:s

Food Prices Falling on US Stores

The five latest failures: Bank of Wyoming Failed (#53), First Piedmont Bank (#54), BankFirst (#55), Vinyard Bank (#56), and Temecula Valley Bank (#57). Gee, and we’ve been told that Wyoming was one of the states hurt the least by the recession…

Bankruptcy Filings Up 33% Over Past 12 Months

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Bill B. mentioned this piece by the author of the popular novel One Second After, William R. Forstchen: “EMP 101” A Basic Primer & Suggestions for Preparedness

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Greg C. sent a link to a Rasmussen Reports article: The Audacity of Self-defense

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EMB spotted an interesting new site: GippersList.com. It is an alternative to Craigslist, for conservatives, I assume that they will allow firearms and ammunition ads. (Which, of course, the politically correct Craigslist won’t.)

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Only in America Department: Dealer offers AK-47 with each new truck purchase (A hat tip to Jeff D. for the link.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

" …vaults of the central banks and return to the pockets and purses of private individuals, for gold is the only really sound money with intrinsic value. The desire to return to gold is understandable, and we hope to see it realized some day, although the argument in favor of the gold standard is not always stated in a valid way. The distinctive function of gold money does not consist in its intrinsic value or in the constancy of that value, which fluctuates even in the absence of government intervention. The excellence of metallic money in free circulation consists in the fact that it renders impossible the abuse of power of the government to dispose of the possessions of its citizens by means of its monetary policy and thus serves as the solid foundation of economic liberty within each country and of free trade between one country and another. – Faustino Ballve, Essentials of Economics, 1958

Notes from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 23 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

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 foods, courtesy of Ready Made Resources.

Second Prize: 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 $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 23 ends on July 31st, 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.

An Introductory Note: The writer of this article has politics that differ from my own (and probably the majority of SurvivalBlog readers). He is an eastern liberal populist, while I am a western conservative libertarian. You might wonder why I’m providing him a soapbox. I’m doing so in part to show where we have some common ground, but just as importantly because Mr. Valenza’s viewpoint might become prevalent in the next few years, and protests may be coming to a neighborhood near you. Hence, if you are a mortgage holder, you might view this with alarm, while those of you that are under threat of foreclosure and eviction might see Valenza’s stance as positive in some ways. If nothing else, this article illustrates a political aspect of the “we/they paradigm” that might lead to some public protests and fisticuffs in the near future. It all comes down to where you put yourself on the continuums of scale of government, access to (and resort to) force, individual liberty, and the right to own property. Where things gets fuzzy–at least for some–are the concepts of private ownership, the integrity of binding legal contracts, and the often misapplied concept of “social justice.” I predict that the next decade will be tumultuous. Choose your locale well, fully consider your affiliations, prepare prudently, pick your fights carefully and deliberately, and don’t get caught on the receiving end of either a billy club or a pitchfork. That is, unless you know in your heart that you truly are in the right, and engaged in a struggle worth dying for.