Letter Re: Preparedness Advice for the Parents of a Newborn Infant

Mr. & Mrs. Rawles,
I hope you and the family are doing well. I have been reading your blog for over a year now and it has been quite helpful. We are making our way slowly in our preps but now I have a new issue. My wife has blessed our home with a child. We had been trying for 12 years with no luck, I guess God decided it was time! My daughter is now two weeks old and with all the excitement I hadn’t put any thought into preps for a new born. Maybe the Memsahib could give me some direction. Thanks so much for what you do! Also I’m a 10 cent challenge subscriber and it’s time for me to renew. I’ll be getting that done soon! – Jason in Missouri

The Memsahib Replies: Congratulations! The most important thing is that your wife breast feeds your baby! I hope that she is doing so. The first week or so is the hardest. If she is having difficulties do let her know it will get better. The La Leche League is the best resource for help with breast feeding difficulties.

If you hope God will bless you with more babies, you ought to be prepared! You can order home birth childbirth kits from a number of vendors in the US, and in the UK.

Your biggest concern will be diapers. Depending on circumstances (availability of spring or well water and grid, generator, or photovoltaic power to run a washing machine) you will have to decide between cloth diapers or disposable diapers. When I nursed my newborns, I often changed diapers more than 10 times per day, to prevent diaper rash! (My family has fair, sensitive skin.) Untreated, diaper rash can lead to serious infections. Proper hygiene is crucial.) Choose you diapering method and then stock up, in quantity!

The very most useful items in my experience are:

For childbirth:

Sterilized cord clamp

Betadine solution

A bulb syringe

Bed liners (like those made for the disabled, available at medical supply houses)

For your newborn:

Plan on breast feeding, but as a back up consider stocking up on canned infant formula

Lanolin cream for your nursing wife

Petroleum jelly ad zinc ointment as diaper rash preventatives

Diapers and diaper covers,

Multiple”onesees”, sleepers, or saque gowns would be a real blessing. They can be found at yard sales for maybe 25 cents per outfit.or less if you don’t care about stains. As you have already discovered babies spit up a lot and diapers leak. In a post-TEOTWAWKI world, when washing and drying baby clothes won’t be so easy, then having multiple changes in every size would make daily life easier.

I also would never be without a front pack infant carrier.

I’d appreciate other SurvivalBlog readers chiming in (via e-mail) with childbirth and infant care suggestions, including recommend brand names of useful products.

I should also mention that I highly recommend the childbirth book “Heart and Hands“. And, although not from a Christian perspective (It has Hippie/Flower Child perspective!), the book “Spiritual Midwifery” presents childbirth as a natural process–not just as a medical condition.

Odds ‘n Sods:

From the folks over at The Oil Drum: How Much Will Gustav and Ike Affect Gas Supplies? An Update

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More on the MOAB, from The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Bailout Plan Calms Markets, But Struggle Looms Over Details

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Another slug of cheer from SurvivalBlog’s Economic Editor: Stocks Soar As Investors Look To Gov’t Rescue Plan — Current List of Failed Banks (another bank failure was announced on Friday) — Wall Street Dumps Mortgage Corruption on Taxpayers — New Wall Street Crisis Will Create a New Financial World Order — Forecast: US Dollar Could Plunge 90%.

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Kevin A,. recommended this piece of commentary from Charles Hugh Smith: Restoring the Con in Confidence

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Mr. President, we must not allow a mineshaft gap!” – George C. Scott as Gen. ‘Buck’ Turgidson , in Dr. Strangelove, 1964. (Screenplay by by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern and Peter George.)

Letter Re: Anticipating Another Federal Ban on Semi-Auto Rifles and Full Capacity Magazines

Hello Mr. Rawles,
I am assuming that no matter who wins the presidency, we are probably looking at the next assault weapons ban in about a year (if TEOTWAWKI doesn’t happen first). I don’t recall exactly what the effect of the last ban was on pre-ban guns, but I assume the prices of pre-ban AR-15s rose dramatically? If that is the case, would it be wise to purchase several AR-15 lower receivers now, with the possibility of selling them at a profit after the ban is in place (since they will then be pre-ban)? The relatively low price of a stripped AR-15 lower [receiver] [around $120, or less, in quantity] seems to offer an interesting opportunity, since I could buy 10 lowers for only $1,000, and I’m assuming this is the part that would really increase in value.

I already have a number of ARs and other guns for personal use, so I’m considering this mainly as a potential investment.

Also, as a side note, what is your opinion in investing in foreign currency? In particular, I see Everbank has a CD which lets you purchase Australian, New Zealand, South African, and Canadian dollars (currencies dependant on commodities). Obviously such an investment would be useless after a complete collapse… but if we just had severe inflation?

I’ve been prepping for survival situations for a while now, just recently started thinking about these other scenarios as well (extreme inflation, etc). Thanks, – Dylan

JWR Replies: When the US Congress passed the so-called “assault weapon” ban (circa 1994-to-2004), the BATF came out with an edict that stripped receivers that had been made before the ban, but that were assembled into completed rifles after the ban would not be legal build in a pre-ban configuration. So that nixes your low-cost “hedging on potential legislation” investment idea. If you are worried about a Democrat in the White House and the advent of a new ban, then I think that investing in full capacity magazines is a far better investment. You will probably triple or quadruple your money. See this piece in the SurvivalBlog archives for my detailed recommendations: The Falling Dollar–Sheltering Your Assets in Steel and Alloy Tangibles.

As for foreign currencies, since virtually all national currencies are now issued by fiat (un-backed by metallic specie), they are all doomed to inflation. The only question is, which currencies will suffer the least from inflation? With that in mind, I can only reiterate my long-standing recommendation: tangibles, tangibles, tangibles. Buy your practical tangibles first (such as productive farm land, common caliber ammunition, and full capacity magazines), and then, as your budget permits, follow that up with some barterable precious metals (such as pre-1965 US “junk” silver coinage). And if you are wealthy, then move on to buying gold bullion, such as Krugerrands, Canadian Maple Leafs, or American Eagles.

Letter Re: Recommendation for the Cool Tools Web Site

Hello –
Survival Blog readers might be interested in the Cool Tools web site and e-mail newsletter. The site was originated by Kevin Kelly, who edited Whole Earth Review in the 1980s and also put together several versions of The Whole Earth Catalog, Cool Tools offers one new “Cool Tool” per day.
Far from just being gadgets, a Cool Tool “can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or web site that is tried and true.” All submissions are reader reviewed, they are not just regurgitations of product literature.
There are good recommendations in many categories that might be of interest to Survival Blog readers. For example, backpacking (improvised shelters, stoves, maps), dwellings (building underground homes, yurts, building your home yourself), homesteading, edibles, vehicles (like the Kawasaki KLR 650) and more. A recent entry was from a reader who has been experimenting with alcohol stoves.

Thanks for your work on SurvivalBlog! – John in Michigan

Three Letters Re: Tropical Storm Ike’s Devastation Works its Way North to Ohio

Hello Jim,
This note is in reference to the letter from Melanie and Rick in Columbus about the woman who never thought of using the grill to cook. I had a similar experience with my mother-in-law. While we had power and water, she had lost hers. I offered to bring buckets of water to her house so she could manually refill the toilet tank to flush with(she has septic).
Not only did she not think of that, she couldn’t understand the concept. She ended up going to a hotel for a couple of days. People like this will not last long in a prolonged crisis. Just goes to show the most critical piece of gear is your brain and knowledge. Take care, – Jeff in Ohio

Hi Jim,
I just finished reading Melanie and Rick’s letter and what they faced during their ‘hurricane’ event in Columbus. The conditions they experienced sound very similar to what I related to you was occurring in Cincinnati a few days ago. I just wanted to make a few comments regarding the need for self-defense and owning a gun to do so. Rick was concerned about someone who was driving by coming back to ‘liberate’ his generator. That would concern me too, so here are a couple of my thoughts on the situation. First, it is a good idea to conceal the fact that you have power when the rest of your neighbors don’t and it’s pretty obvious at night. So close the blinds, black out the windows and do what you can to conceal the fact that you have power. Second, do what you can to muffle the sound of your generator with sound baffles or a soundproof enclosure. Third, “nail it down” and secure it as Rick did with chains and locks.

Now to the more important issue, protecting the generator using deadly force. A couple of years ago when concealed carry was first permitted in Ohio, I completed the required course to get my permit. While not a lawyer, I do remember the most important lesson taught regarding the law in Ohio is this; you can use a firearm to protect human life, but you may not use a firearm to protect private property. So to Rick’s point, if he did have a gun and used it to protect his generator from a would be thief and actually injured or killed them during the event, he could be prosecuted should he cause injury or death to the intruder. It does go without saying however, if Rick was threatened and feared for his life or the life of someone in his family while and intruder was trying to steal the generator, he could defend his or their life with deadly force. Personally, I always feel my life is in immediate danger anytime someone invades my home, regardless of their intentions, but simply threatening someone with bodily harm using a firearm is also currently illegal and depending upon the circumstances and the court and lawyers involved, one could potentially face some time in state provided accommodations. There have been a few cases reported where people defended their property by shooting a fleeing intruder in the back while trying to escape and were found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. For someone to be attacking you they must be facing you. However, one could certainly detain the intruder for the police if the police could be successfully contacted (communications/availability might be an issue) and would actually show up to make an arrest.

With this said, I believe everyone should own and trained to safely use a firearm(s). When the defecation impacts the rotating oscillator the laws may not change, but the circumstances will definitely change for the worst…so when you have only seconds to make that life-or-death decision you will be more likely to successfully do so while waiting for the cops are just minutes, hours or even days away!

It is essential to be prepared for the worst, but hope – and more importantly, pray for the best. – Larry in Cincinnati

 

Sir:
I am an ex-cop, who served in St. Tammany Parish, just above New Orleans. (On the other side of Lake Pontchartrain). I was there during [Hurricane] Katrina. Believe me when I say I have many stories to tell, and I am sure I will, eventually.

However, I have been lurking on your web site for a while, and I had to comment in a recent post.
The people in Ohio who almost had their generator stolen made me remember a looter we had in Post-Katrina St. Tammany Parish. He would bring a lawn mower in the middle of the night, turned on and throttled down, to your house. He would put it near the generator, and over the course of 10 or so minutes, throttle it up. Then he would simply turn off the generator and trundle away with it, leaving a similar noise behind. The cold air from air conditioning would last long enough for his get-away. If I remember correctly, he stole about 36 generators before being caught.
We even had a gennie stolen from the Sheriff’s LEC (Law Enforcement Complex), three nights after Katrina. And one of the jail’s large generators was given to the hospital when theirs died. Essentially, hide them, do not use them at night if you can avoid it, and think about putting a muffler on it to hide the sound. And buy a gun.
Any questions? Thanks, – Joshua

Odds ‘n Sods:

Our Economic Editor sent us another huge batch of news and commentary–plenty for you to digest over the weekend: But I’ll focus on perhaps the most important article, that confirms my prediction of a gargantuan Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB): Paulson plan could cost $1 trillion. And now for the rest: Treasury pulls out stops to support money markets — Fed, Central Banks Move to Boost Global Confidence (“Wall Street’s biggest crisis since the Great Depression forced the Federal Reserve and central banks in other countries to pump billions of dollars into the world’s banking system in an urgent bid to stop further damage.”) — Fed Quadruples Money Central Banks Can Auction — Drowning Fed Swims Against Credit Crisis Tide — Gold Largest One-Day Price Rise In History — AIG Collapse: Too Awful To Contemplate — America Will Need Trillion Dollar Bail-Out — Russia Injects $19.6bn To Restore Markets — Central Banks Pump $180bn To Ease Strain — Global Credit System Suffers Cardiac Arrest on US Crash — Winter to Bring Avalanche of Job Losses — More Banks to Die — Investors Rush Into Gold and Bonds — Bright Side of a Total Financial Collapse — Morgan Stanley, Sachs Goldman Shares Sink: Fear Spreads — Crash: The World As We Know It Is Going Under — After Lehman, Banks Jettison Commercial-Property Debt — 3-Month T-Bill Rates Lowest Since WWII — Treasury to Sell $100 Billion in Bills to Help Fed Balance Sheet — SEC Bans Naked Shorting For All Securities — FDIC Heading For Failure — Morgan, Goldman, HBOS Crashing (WaMu Too) — Barclays Buys Lehmans for $1.75bn — Feds Shopping For WaMu Buyer — Bank of Scotland Faces Its End — Economist Recounts Talk With Fed Chairman — Panic Grips Credit Markets — Federal Bank Insurance Fund Dwindling — WaMu Next To Fail? — It’s The Derivatives, Stupid! — Hedge Funds Crash Halifax, HBOS Rescued By Lloyd’s TSB — Credit Crisis Darkens US Outlook — Crisis Seeps Into Everyday Life.

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Anyone with a Saiga 12 gauge shotgun should check out the new drum magazines from MDArms. They reportedly work very well, and require less fitting than the Wraithmaker drums that I mentioned in blog previously. They are also less expensive.

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Welcome to sunspot minimum: NASA to hold press conference on the state of the sun. (A hat tip to KAF for the link.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"If an American is to amount to anything he must rely upon himself, and not upon the State; he must take pride in his own work, instead of sitting idle to envy the luck of others. He must face life with resolute courage, win victory if he can, and accept defeat if he must, without seeking to place on his fellow man a responsibility which is not theirs." – Theodore Roosevelt

Observations on a Life on the Gulf Coast During the Hurricane Season

Jim,
With [hurricanes] Gustav and Ike paying us a visit, I thought I would send you a note regarding the importance of self reliance versus shelter life. Living in the Gulf South, hurricanes are something you have to prepare for. Government support and shelter will not be there for you in the way you might think. Your lack of supplies or resources when you most need them, depending on the emergency, could mean a thoroughly miserable experience for you and your family at best; or [something far] worse if the emergency is wider and deeper in scope. Start making your preparations now, when they’re not needed immediately and are readily available. When the time to act arrives, don’t hesitate, and you will find yourself in safer territory long before the rest of the unprepared and sometimes frantic crowd.

Hurricanes are simply a part of life in the Gulf South. Out West there are earthquakes, wildfires and even volcanic activity. Elsewhere in the US we have to prepare for tornados, blizzards, nor’easters, floods, et cetera. And these are just what nature can throw at us and often does. Barely a day goes by where we are not reading about some unfortunate people caught short in an unexpected event, and unprepared for [the] emergency. In addition, in today’s world there are legitimate man-made concerns, such as terrorist activity, industrial accidents and the threat of economic collapse as highlighted in your most entertaining and informative novel; “Patriots“. In short, I don’t think anybody; anywhere is 100% immune from some sort of emergency or cataclysmic event. The time to start preparing was yesterday. The time to stop, is never. Always look to improve and renew your preparations.

Before Hurricane Katrina, I thought that I had my act together. My wife laughed at how prepared I always was. I took great pride in her labeling me as her little Boy Scout. But I soon found that I wasn’t. After the storm passed I discovered that the recoil [starter] spring on the generator was broken. (I hadn’t checked it for the last couple of years). And although I found a way around that, I only had enough gas to run it for a few days. I figured it would all be over quickly as had been the case with so many other storms that merely brushed by and brought little more than an inconvenience. My easily prepared food was also limited to a few days, maybe a week at best. Water I had enough of for a week or two. I soon realized that I was little better prepared, if at all, than anyone else on my street. Sure, I was the first one with boards on my windows, and I had a generator; but that was about it.

Taking it a step further, I had these preparations for myself. My wife and family had evacuated. In the event there was an emergency where they wouldn’t be able to evacuate, with generator power for a few days, food and water maybe the same, we would have found ourselves in dire straights all too quickly with little or no choice other than to rely on charity. If we were creative, we might have been able to stretch it out for almost two week, at best. Cleaning up after a storm and trying to put your life back together requires a lot of extra calories and is certainly not the time to scrimp together a minimal diet.

We were lucky, however, in that we had saved money for a grand family vacation the following year, so there were funds available to take care of everyone for three weeks while they were evacuated. Fortunately for me, I am a police officer, so decent hot food and support was available to me. Not to mention being able to take home a few gallons of gas each day for my generator. Had I of been Mr. John Q. Public given the same set of circumstances, I would have been in line for Red Cross meals twice a day before long, and totally without power unless I went from 8-to-12 hours per day to 2 or 3.

Again, taking it a step further, if my family needed shelter, given either a lack of funds or the opportunity to evacuate, and unable to stay in my house due to storm damage, we would have wound up in line for food and spending the night in the corridors of a local school which is used for [a public] shelter. I have worked as security at those shelters. Believe me, they are not places you want to spend time in, filled with the homeless, near homeless, mentally ill, infirm and a rough assortment of folks with near nothing to their name.

During [Hurricane] Gustav our city had several shelters, and by design, they are not comfortable. One shelter where you could bring your pet (in a crate & with food & supplies only!) had a huge generator. All of the pets enjoyed air conditioning. The people, housed in a separate area, did not. The other shelters where pets were strictly not allowed also had no air conditioning. When asking the Red Cross officials about this, they stated that their rules demanded air conditioning and 20 square feet of space per pet. For people, no air conditioning was required and only 15 square feet of space was deemed necessary. They said they didn’t want the people to be too comfortable where they wouldn’t want to leave. They achieved this goal ‘handsomely’. The walls of the school corridors were soon sweating profusely from condensation and pools of water covered the floor. Anything like sleeping bags, or bags of clothing left on the floor soon began to absorb water. Even after 24 hours, the smell began to set in. No one hung around any longer than they absolutely had to. Mission accomplished. Given different circumstances and recourses, I’m sure they would have been more accommodating, but I never want to find out first hand.

The local school board was also what I would describe as less than considerate. At the shelter I worked at, the folks from the Red Cross were told by the principal that they were limited to the hallways, cafeteria and gym; that the people requiring shelter could only be from that area – no evacuees from further afield; and that 12 hours after the storm passed, everyone had to be out. In short, evacuees found themselves in miserable conditions, and felt unwanted all round. The Lord should smile on the Red Cross volunteers who actually manned the shelter as they worked themselves silly to do all they could for the inhabitants, but try as they might, they simply could not do much to alleviate the miserable conditions. I never want to find myself there, and refuse to let my family go through anything remotely like that.

Today I am far more prepared in every respect, and continuing to improve on my preparations all around. When I first started getting truly prepared, my family thought I was a little ‘nutty’. Now, in many ways they see the need, but still see a somewhat eccentric side to me. They were all born in a time of plenty. A time where we are accustomed to having what we want and when we want it. Increasingly, the finer things in life are taken for granted and many segments of society even demand not only their necessities, but the luxuries of life to be handed to them, gratis. In time of need, the more sudden, the deeper and prolonged the emergency, the more severe their reaction to take what they don’t have and we do have, by any means necessary.

Hurricanes are relatively small emergencies. Given the scope of [hurricanes such as] Ike, Gustav, Katrina, or Andrew, for example, some may say they were anything but small. To many, they lost everything. But on the whole, hurricanes produce short lived, localized emergency conditions which the rest of the country responds to. Given a far wider reaching event, such as a [large scale] EMP attack, economic collapse, pandemic etc, the effects could be very widespread over a far longer period. It wouldn’t take long for people to realize that no one would be coming to help. The 911 telephone system wouldn’t work, or would work less effectively. Shelters, if available, would be hell, but for those of us unprepared, we would have little else to fall back on. This, in large part, is why I prepare. It is why we all should. – DZ in Louisiana

Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Practical Preparedness — Things That Work

Jim:
To follow-up on the last two e-mails that you posted from me, here are some random thoughts that I’d like to share on preparedness for when the Schumer Hits the Fan (WTSHTF):

Use an eyeglasses “leash” (lanyard) to prevent the loss of glasses and reduce the risk of damage.

Buy janitorial-size rolls os toilet paper, without perforations. Each roll is 1,000 feet long, and a box of 12 rolls measures about two feet square. These take up just a fraction of the room required to store the same length of toilet paper in standard household rolls.

Use a kiddie-type pool to collect water from rainwater downspouts. The pools with hard-plastic sides and vinyl bottoms are fairly durable. A six foot diameter pool that is 15 inches deep holds 211 gallons of water.

Light-emitting diode (LED) lights are superior to traditional [filament] bulb designs. They last much longer and are much more resistant to impact. When used LEDs, batteries last much longer. LED headlights are close to ideal for doing chores, since they keep your hands free. Tactical use requires a hand-held or weapon-mounted light [with an intermittent switch.]

Krazy Glue [cyanoacrylate adhesive] is great for closing small cuts [after they have been properly cleaned.] Steri-strips are the next step up in holding ability.

Water Filters – Culligan’s new EZ-change Level 4 [under-sink] filter [cartridge] is rated to treat 500 gallons. That is five time the volume of most compact backpacking filters. With a self-contained design, it would be easy to attach a pump. The are available for $38 through Amazon.com. Most [other] under-sink filters could be used the same way, but the Culligan design is preferable because it is fairly compact.

For “ready made” backpacking filters, I prefer the First Need brand filters. These are rated to remove viruses and radioisotopes.

Ball-shaped pin on magnetic compasses are compact, but they are more fragile that the type designed to clip on to a watch band, such as the Brunton and Suunto brand compasses.

Dental health is very important for long-term survival. Wal-Mart now sells a dental kit including a mirror with scaling tool and pick, from Dentek. They also sell Temparin temporary filling repair kits. These come in three-application containers. Temparin is far superior to the old standby of packing a lost filling void with zinc oxide.

A big part of survival is preventing injury. In a post collapse word, an injury will reduce available manpower, and something that would be considered just relatively minor in the present day could prove fatal. Proper safety equipment and training in the safe use of hand tools is crucial. Gloves, eye protection, preventing falls, fire safety, and so forth should be stressed. Hygiene and proper sanitation are equally important.

I believe that a good foundation for long-term family preparedness is learning the basics of wilderness survival. Having a solid understanding of the first four critical basics–water, food heat and shelter–helps set priorities in developing a larger plan for long-term preparation. It is also the final “fall back” position [in the event that you are forced to abandon your retreat or in case you never make it there]. These basics are also foundational in making important decisions.

Odds ‘n Sods:

I hope that readers took my advice and bought precious metals during the recent dip. The bank credit crisis seems to have woken the gold bull from his short nap. (Gold had one of its best one day gains ever, on Wednesday.) I believe that the bull’s charge will resume, shortly. Because the consumer economy now looks weak, I predict that gold will probably outperform silver in the next run-up. (Since silver is more of an industrial metal, whereas gold as seen as a safe haven when currencies are in turmoil.)

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Tim T. mentioned that any SurvivalBlog readers with an interest in farming with draft horses should check out The Small Farmer’s Journal. BTW, they also have a great book catalog,

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Bill N. recommended a blog piece by Bayou Renaissance Man about his local Neighborhood Watch on Steroids.

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A puzzling article from Der Spiegel was flagged by reader Jack B.: ‘Certain Mistakes Just Can’t Be Allowed to Happen’–“Hundreds of millions of euros from a German government-owned bank went down the drain with Lehman Brothers on Monday after a strange deal that has left many people scratching their heads. Why would a German bank transfer €300 million to an American Wall Street firm after it filed for bankruptcy?” JWR’s comment: I suspect that they were hoping to limit some massive outstanding counterparty risk from derivatives contracts with Lehman Brothers. If they can help keep them afloat by chipping in €300 million, then they might avoid the far bigger risk of a disappearing derivatives contract counterparty. The stakes in the global derivatives casino are almost too huge to imagine.

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The Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) grows a bit more: Fed announces $180 billion cash flood to fight crisis. Eric (a frequent SurvivalBlog content contributor) alerted me that as of Thursday, $105 billion had already rolled out the door of the Fed (electronically). Meanwhile, we read: Morgan Stanley Said to Be in Talks With China’s CIC. The global credit collapse is completely out of control, folks. Be ready to hunker down, if and when things get ugly.

Notes from JWR:

It seems that we are now all in the insurance business. For a mere $85+ billion “loan”, the Federal Reserve–backed by the full faith and credit of the US Treasury–just became a 80% stakeholder in AIG, the nation’s largest insurance company. Hmmmm… Just as I warned, the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) has grown again. Methinks this is going to get a lot worse, before it gets better. Who will we bail out next? Chase Manhattan Bank? General Motors? United Airlines? Chuck E. Cheese? Hey, no prob, we’ve got a big checkbook. The sky’s the limit. We’ll just create the money out of thin air, and “owe it to ourselves.” Let’s face it: The nation is already functionally bankrupt. And as the MOAB continues to grow, we can expect that foreigners will one sad day declare our once-proud nation literally bankrupt, and refuse to take our paper. At that point the game will be over. Move over, Comrade Mugabe. There’ll be a new inflationary wizard in town.

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $750. The auction for a large mixed lot that includes: A Special Mixed Vegetable Case-Six #10 Dehydrated Food Cans (Retail Price $105.95) This special Mixed Vegetable Case contains six #10 (96-ounce) cans–one can of each of the following: Mixed Vegetable Blend, Green Beans, Sweet Garden Peas, Mixed Peppers, Potato Dices, and Sweet Potatoes and a EZ-Towels 10 Pack Combo (10 bags of 50 towels. Retail value: $99.95). These items were donated by Jan at Healthy Harvest Foods. An assortment of world class loose leaf teas, and a box of Bellagio hot chocolate (25 individual packs), with a combined value of approximately $100. These items were courtesy of Charlie at CMEBrew.com. A NukAlert radiation detector (a $160 value), donated by at KI4U.com. And, a Katadyn VARIO water filter, donated by Ready Made Resources. (An $89 retail value.) The auction ends on Monday October 15, 2008. Please e-mail us your bid.

Letter Re: Silver Canadian Leaf Bullion Coins

Jim,
I’m getting ready to add to my collection of gold and silver coins and wanted to bring up a perhaps significant point: American Silver Eagles have a face value of $1, whereas the equivalent Canadian coin (the 1 ounce Maple Leaf) has a face value of $5 Canadian – about $4.65 USD at the current exchange rate. The face value represents a built-in stop-loss should silver prices fall through the floor for any reason. At current prices, the face value of the Canadian caps your potential loss at slightly higher than 50% whereas with the U.S. coin you could potentially lose more than 90% of your investment. Granted, a fall to such low prices is extremely unlikely; nonetheless, a stop-loss is an important component of any investment position and should be carefully considered when buying coins.

And, patriotism aside, I think the Canadian coin is prettier [than the U.S. Silver Eagle] 🙂

Best, – Matt R.


JWR Replies: Your point is well taken. Although the chances of a collapse in the price of silver below $5 per ounce is quite small, it doesn’t hurt to hedge your bets. Another “stop-loss” approach like yours is buying US silver half dollars that were minted between 1965 and 1970. Unlike the pre-1965 US coins (that were 90% silver), these later half dollars were minted with just 40% silver content. The beauty of investing in these is that if the price of silver were ever to collapse, you could simply spend them. The only downside is that because they are only 40% silver, they are a much bulkier and heavier way to invest in barterable silver. The 40% silver half dollars are available in $500 and $1,000 face value bags, from coin dealers. Here is some data that you should jot down, for calculating the bullion value of circulated US coins:

1964 or earlier 90% dime, quarter or half-dollar bags ($1,000 face value) contain approximately 715 ounces of silver
1965-to-1970 40% half dollar bags ($1,000 face value) contain approximately 296 ounces of silver

So, for example, to determine the bullion value of $1,000 face value in 40% silver quarters, simply multiply the current day’s spot price of silver ($10.85, as of this writing) x 296. Thus, $10.85 x 296 = $3,211.60 per bag. Based on that you can estimate that these coins are presently worth 3.21 times their face value. (A 40% silver 50 cent piece is worth $1.60 in FRNs. Meanwhile a 90% silver 50 cent piece is worth $3.88 in FRNs.) Silver would have to collapse to below $3 per ounce before it would make sense to spend 40% silver half dollars as regular pocket change. But, even then, given the long term trends for the value of the US Dollar, it would be crazy to do so.

Letter Re: A Recent Gasoline Shortage Underscores the Need to Be Low Profile

Sir:
I’ve been a reader of your site for only about a year and consider myself a beginner-level survivalist. I’ve got the mindset and start of some basic short-term survival gear and knowledge, but haven’t been able to convince the wife to go all out yet. A few months ago, you had posted an article about keeping your level of preparedness secret from neighbors and I wasn’t sure why until recently. I live in Middle Tennessee, and although we are hundreds of miles away from Hurricane Ike, we experienced a short run on gas and spike in prices. Probably close to a quarter of the gas stations in the city simply ran out. From past experience, I had already purchased a 50-gallon drum with manual pump (which I had filled in July), and I had three 5-gallon jugs that I used to fill up the day before [the hurricane’s] landfall. I could easily make that last for a month even without changing my driving habits as long as there is electricity and I don’t have to generate. Plenty of time for capacity to return to normal.

Not only did I get some evil looks while filling up at the pump [in July], but I was also scrutinized at work by a few people that I had told about my “cache.” Most seemed to think I was the reason for the shortage (or a part of it.) And while I agree that a hype can fuel a shortage, a shortage is still a shortage. My personal preparedness plays such a miniscule role in the big picture. But the comments are enough to have made me learn my lesson. If 65 gallons of gas is enough for people to question my intentions, then what would they say if they discovered a much larger level or preparedness and the problem was much worse? Suddenly I’m not the guy trying to survive — I’m the stingy hoarder who won’t share with people in need and in some way contributed to the shortage. Thanks for all you do. – Wes B.

JWR Replies: In my opinion, the modern American citizenry has been badly misinformed by the mass media about what constitutes “hoarding.” By filling your gas drum and cans several months ago, you did not contribute to a shortage of fuel in the present day. In normal times, chains of supply are continuously replenished. By buying and storing supplies well in advance, you actually helped to alleviate the current short-term supply disruption. By having a pre-existing stockpile, you represent one less motorist queuing up at the gas station. The same logic applies to any other shortage. It is only people that attempt to buy a disproportionately large supply during a crisis that could legitimately be called “hoarders.” But people in your category–that bought far in advance–are not part of the problem. In fact, by having extra on hand, you can dispense charity, which makes you part of the solution.

Maintaining a low profile is just common sense. The “need to know” rule— that was constantly drummed into me when I was in the intelligence community–is time-proven. There are great advantages in being circumspect.

I enjoy giving charitably. But there is no reason why it has to be done with a high profile in the midst of a natural disaster or other crisis. By anonymously leaving parcels on doorsteps or by using an intermediary–such as your local church–you are far less likely to attract unwanted attention from either government officials or members of your community with a twisted sense of ethics.

The other reason for being secretive about charity is Biblical: In Matthew 6:3 (King James Version) we are taught: “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” Essentially, this means that when giving charitably, we should do it without any fanfare, lest it be a source of pride. Give generously, but do so very quietly.