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 valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

In my view, people are misinterpreting these verses. These are verses about worry, not about work or preparedness. Never does the Bible teach that we should laze about and not provide for our families. Earning our daily bread is the Godly way to live. We are taught not to be lazy or dependent on others. Yes, we are to trust in God’s providence, but nowhere do the scriptures absolve us of the responsibility to work or to save up for lean times. Consider these four verses from the book of Proverbs:

He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. Proverbs 12:11, NIV

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23, NIV

The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. Proverbs 21:25, NIV

The plans of the diligent surely lead to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty surely to poverty. Proverbs 21:5, NKJV

 

Food Storage

The Bible encourages storing food. Look at Gen. 41:47-49: “And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.” And then see Gen. 41:53-57: “And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. And the sevens years of dearth [drought] was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.
And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.

The preceding is a good example that illustrates the need for food storage. As I write this in 2008, a growing portion of the world is already experiencing famine. You should recognize that famine could just a well come to stalk America, Europe, the British Isles, and Australia. (The areas with the largest SurvivalBlog readership.) It is prudent and Biblically supported to stock up during good times in anticipation of lean times.

Prov. 6:6-15: “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a forward mouth. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; Forwardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.”

The lessons from scripture are clear: Don’t be lazy and lax. Store up in good times for future lean times. Ponder this Old Testament passage: Psalm 34:9-10: “O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” And then look at this New Testament passage:, from 1 Timothy 5:8: “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

One of the many names of God is Jehovah Jireh, which means God Who Provides. As I Christian, I believe that God will provide for his covenant people. I believe that one of the many gifts that the God has provided is a conviction, by the Holy Spirit, to be well prepared. I realize that we are only on Earth for about 80 trips around the sun, and that is just the twinkling of an eye versus eternity. Where we end up after this brief life is far, far more important in the grand scheme of things. We will spend eternity either in heaven or in hell. But how we spend our +/-80 year life on Earth is up to us. (And the most important thing that we do in the is life is make ourselves right with God, though his Grace, to accepting eternal life in heaven. But stepping back to this temporal world: The Bible makes it very clear that we are to be good stewards of the blessings that God provides us. I therefore feel strongly convicted to not just share the gospel of Christ, but also to physically prepare for my own family, and store extra to dispense as charity. The bottom line: I can’t continue to share the gospel if I starve to the point of achieving room temperature!

Self Defense
 Other readers question how I can justify owning guns for self-defense. Some Mennonites, for example, eschew all means self defense and decry even the willingness to defend oneself or one’s loved ones. That, in my opinion is taking “turning the other cheek” (Luke 6:29) to an extreme that is not sculpturally founded.

Exodus 22:2 provides Biblical justification for killing someone if he intends to forcibly rob or kill another man: “If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed.” (Exodus 22:2 NIV)

And Jesus teaches that it is wise to be armed, in Luke 22:35-36: “Then Jesus asked them, ‘When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?’ ‘Nothing,’ they answered. He said to them, ‘But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”

In an article titled: What Does The Bible Say About Gun Control? Larry Pratt keenly observed the difference between self-defense and vengeance:

Resisting an attack is not to be confused with taking vengeance which is the exclusive domain of God (Rom. 12:19). This has been delegated to the civil magistrate, who, as we read in Romans 13:4, “. . . is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.”

Private vengeance means one would stalk down a criminal after one’s life is no longer in danger as opposed to defending oneself during an attack. It is this very point that has been confused by Christian pacifists who would take the passage in the Sermon on the Mount about turning the other cheek (which prohibits private vengeance) into a command to falter before the wicked.

Let us consider also that the Sixth Commandment tells us: “Thou shall not murder.” In the chapters following, God gave to Moses many of the situations which require a death penalty. God clearly has not told us never to kill. He has told us not to murder, which means we are not to take an innocent life. Consider also that the civil magistrate is to be a terror to those who practice evil. This passage does not in any way imply that the role of law enforcement is to prevent crimes or to protect individuals from criminals. The magistrate is a minister to serve as “an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Rom. 13:4).

Jesus taught both to turn the other cheek and to be well-armed to defend oneself. The important factor is having the wisdom to know when to employ either approach depending on the circumstances. I pray, for wisdom, discernment, and discretion, daily. I don’t seek out trouble, and in fact I have moved my family to a remote, lightly populated region in good part to avoid trouble. But if unavoidable trouble comes my way, I want to have the option of resisting force with force. And I only have that option if I am armed and trained.

Some critics of armed preparedness cite Matthew 26:52-54, which descries how Jesus responded when Peter cut off the ear of a s high priest’s servant, using a sword: “Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?”

In context, Jesus is telling Peter that it would be suicidal to fight in that particular situation, since they were quite outnumbered. And of course Jesus knew it was in God’s plan for him to be arrested, tried, crucified, and resurrected. Jesus told Peter to put his sword in its place –which was back in his belt. Jesus was telling Peter in effect that “there is a time to fight, and this, my friend, isn’t it.” He didn’t command him to “throw that sword away”, or “surrender it”, or to “stop carrying it”. After all, according to Luke, Jesus had just recently ordered the disciples to arm themselves. The reason for the arms was obviously to protect their own lives when traveling–not to protect His own life, which He intended to sacrifice, to pay for our sins, once and for all.

The Old testament teaches both to be armed, and to be trained. We read in Psalm 144:1:

Blessed be the Lord my rock
Who trains my hands for war
And my fingers for battle.

Yes, as Christians our battles are mainly spiritual, but we must also be prepared to defend our lives, and the lives of our loved ones, against evildoers.

Charity

Charity–both in time of plenty and in times of disaster–is a Christian responsibility with its roots in the Old Testament tradition of Tzedaka. This responsibility–particularly for the support of widows and orphans–was repeated in the New Testament, such as in Acts 11:27-29: “And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth [drought] throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea.”

The Biblical approach to survivalism is to avoid trouble, but to be ready for it nonetheless. And when trouble does come, have extra stores on hand, so that you can dispense copious charity. Give until it hurts!

From David in Israel: Peace Corps Remote Area Development Guide Available Online

I have finally found one of my favorite books available as a PDF. This Peace Corps Remote Areas Development Guide is just what anyone would need to jump start a agricultural settlement and
everything else the small town would need.

Unfortunately the [photo reproduction] quality [of the PDF file] is low, I have packed my hard copy of this practical pocket guide with me for many years from my college Bugout Bag to here in Israel.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Naish Piazza of Front Sight has regretfully announced that because of increased merchandise costs as well as increased shipping and mailing costs he will soon be raising the price on his very generous “Get a Gun” training and gear package offer. Get your order in right away, to beat the price increase! Also, keep in mind that the offer will likely end soon, since it is being run at or near cost.

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Inyokern sent this article link about survivalists the UK’s Guardian newspaper: Natural born survivors. BTW, it mentions SurvivalBlog and cites the size our our weekly readership.

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Several readers have written to ask me about the impact of the Federal Reserve’s recent incremental cut in interest rates. In my opinion, this latest 0.25% cut (the seventh cut within as many months) will not make much of a difference. At this point, the economy is so out of whack, debt levels (public and private) are so high, and the credit market is so badly broken, that a deep, long recession–if not a depression–seems inevitable. America’s situation is not unlike that of Japan in the early 1990s. There, a stock market bubble grew out of the Tokyo real estate bubble. First real estate collapsed, and then stocks. The Bank of Japan tried reducing interest rates all the way to zero, to no avail. Now, fifteen years later, their economy has still not fully recovered. Be prepared for decades of economic turmoil, folks!

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Blake W. mentioned this unusual concept: Establishing gated communities peopled entirely with Ron Paul supporters.

Note from JWR:

Today, with permission, we feature an insightful guest editorial from silver mining stock specialist Jason Hommel:

Spotlight Falls on Silver’s “Poor Fundamentals” by Jason Hommel

An article by Pratima Desai that was circulated by the Reuters news service, included this:

LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) – Investment money flooding into silver has overwhelmed poor fundamentals and helped it to outperform gold, but the tide could be turning for precious metals and the probability of large losses is rising.

THE REAL TRUTH IS:
Silver has outstanding fundamentals, and silver’s downside is minimal, and, in fact, it probably just bottomed, as I will show.

Silver’s price falls in percentage terms are likely to dwarf those seen in gold, which some fund managers say has stronger supply/demand fundamentals.

Again, the opposite is true, silver’s supply/demand fundamentals are much better than for gold, as all the smart money knows, and as I will show.

“History shows that when you get a substantial correction in precious metals, silver falls more than gold … It’s a more volatile market and smaller in value terms,” said Stephen Briggs, analyst at Societe Generale.

That’s true, silver is more volatile, and in a bull market for silver, which we are in, silver will clearly outperform gold, as it has outperformed gold, as the silver to gold ratio is narrowing, from 80:1 to 50:1, and we have a long way to go to get to the historic 15:1 ratio, or we will likely exceed it, with silver moving even higher.

One big reason behind surging prices has been the tumbling dollar, making commodities priced in dollars cheaper for holders of other currencies. The weak dollar also prompts producers to raise prices to protect profit margins.

Silver producers do not have the luxury of raising prices. No commodity producer does. All commodities in the world are either sold at the spot price, or under long term contracts that have already been agreed upon, which, in this bull market, are usually at lower prices than today.

Last week the dollar fell to record lows against the Euro, to beyond $1.60, an event which has caused many to question whether further losses can be sustained and whether it has bottomed.
While the excess creation of paper money is one of the best factors for higher silver prices, the dollar’s relation to the yen and Euro has almost nothing to do with it’s relation to silver and gold prices. All paper money, the yen, Euro, and the dollar, are all falling against silver and gold, generally, since 2001 and that trend will continue.

“The dollar is not going to keep on depreciating forever,” Briggs said. He expects gold prices to average around $900 an ounce next year from $1,025 this year and silver to average $15.50 compared with $19.20.

Well, actually, the dollar could keep on depreciating forever, as all paper currencies in all of human history have eventually done just that. It’s silver and gold that cannot depreciate forever. Furthermore, these spokesmen from the large banks and brokers are always revising upwards their estimates of silver’s future prices, and it’s always behind where silver ends up going; I’ve seen this pattern for the last eight years now. Since when have the large banks or brokers called silver right? When did they advise you to ever get into this market to make several hundred percent since 2001? They never did. And now they want you to sell? They always want you to sell.

Financial uncertainty, which has underpinned precious metals since last August is to some extent becoming less important to investors seeking the higher returns stocks and bonds offer.
Stocks and bonds offering higher returns? Since when? Only if you go back 30 years, but not the last 8. The Dow/Gold ratio topped out in 2001 at about 56 and has narrowed down to about 14 now that gold has hit about $900.

With a weakened case for holding precious metals, prices have started to slip. Spot gold is now around $893 an ounce compared with a record high of $1,030.80 on March 17 and silver at $17 from a 27-year high of $21.24.

Weakened case for holding precious metals? What weakened case? They made no case. They didn’t even get the facts right. The current dip in silver is probably the bottom, and now is probably the best time to buy!

Goldman Sachs recently said it expects to see gold prices at $835 an ounce in 12 months and silver at around $15.50.
Here’s another investment bank revising their estimates upwards again, but making bearish calls. Hilarious. Pathetic. Bullish!

RECYCLING
From the end of last year to March 17, silver prices surged by more than 40 percent, while gold was up more than 20 percent. Silver’s heftier gains were built on investor flows.
Absolutely. Investment demand for silver surged from 5% of annual mine supply to maybe about 8-10% of annual mine supply, we’ll see soon.

Barclays iShares silver trust, the biggest silver exchange traded fund listed in the United States, now holds more than 5,770 tonnes of silver, a rise of about 10 percent since the end of last year.
Gold holdings by New York-listed StreetTracks Gold Shares, the world’s biggest gold Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), stand at 591 tonnes, down about 5 percent since end-December.
I agree with those stats, but look at what they mean. With gold trading at about 50 times the price of silver, and the gold ETF holding more than 1/10th of the tonnes of the silver ETF, it means that about 5 times as many investment dollars went into the gold ETF.

“Silver is probably going to fall more than gold in percentage terms,” said Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of sales at German metals trading group Heraeus.
“From an industrial and jewelry point of view, there has clearly been a decline in demand. There has been a lot of additional material coming to the market in the form of scrap.”
This “German metals trading group Heraeus” is not said to be either long or short. They could very well have short positions, and just inventing things. They appear to be a silver user, at first glance here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraeus

More than 20,000 tonnes of silver were produced globally last year compared with around 2,500 tonnes of gold.
I agree with those stats. What is not said is that 160% of gold mine supply is purchased by investors each year or about 4,000 tonnes of gold. In stark contrast, about .07% of silver mine supply is purchased by investors each year, about 1,555 tonnes, or about 50 million ounces.

The surplus in the physical silver market is expected by some analysts to rise to around 2,500 tonnes from a surplus of around 900 tonnes in 2007. The physical gold market could see a surplus this year of 600 tonnes from 500 tonnes last year.

There is no such thing as a “surplus” of precious metal. This is an accounting term, used to designate demand by investors.
“Fundamentals come into play when prices are coming down,” said John Reade, analyst at UBS. “Silver doesn’t have gold’s fundamentals.”
Exactly. Silver does not have gold’s fundamentals, silver’s are much better. With industry consuming more silver than is mined each year, any slight increase in investor demand for silver will continue to drive silver’s prices upwards, and make a mockery of all of wall street and all they do and all they have to offer. This is why they must band together, to write lying foolishness against silver as they do. This can only be an indication of them feeling pain in the silver market, not being able to coax out any supply from investors after having bombed the price in the last few weeks. The silver shortage is continuing with many coin shops still very low on silver supplies, as investor selling by the public, which was a large part of recycling supply, has changed since gold hit $1,000/oz., and now must be putting the squeeze on all of wall street, who are probably carrying a collective short position in silver.

ONE SOURCE OF DEMAND
Silver is often a byproduct of other metals such as lead, zinc and copper, where miners are trying to ramp up production with some success.
Funny theory. True, about 70% of silver production is as a by-product of the base metals. I just read that Chile, who produces 40% of the world’s copper, is ramping down copper production due to a power crisis. And several more trusted analysts in our industry have finally turned bullish on copper recently.

That means more silver on the market and together with scrap recycling, supplies are set to jump this year, while overall demand, including that from ETFs is expected to fall.
Why would they project demand from silver ETFs to fall? That would be quite a change. It’s rather hard to predict such changes; it’s usually more likely that things will stay the same, with ever increased demand from the silver ETFs.

“Silver is very dependent on one source of demand — ETFs.
That’s not true. Silver prices will go up even without new investor demand, due to the overwhelming fundamentals that there is so little investment demand at all.
You can’t get excited about silver in the same way as gold. Silver doesn’t really have the same cachet,” Briggs said.

Now that’s true. Silver has absolutely no cachet. As I wrote above: 160% of gold mine supply is purchased by investors each year or about 4,000 tonnes of gold. In stark contrast, about .07% of silver mine supply is purchased by investors each year, about 1555 tonnes, or about 50 million ounces. So, how much money is spent on gold vs. silver each year?

Silver: 50 million oz. x $17/oz. = $850 million.
Gold: 4,000 tonnes x 32,151oz/tonne = 128.6 million oz. x $900/oz. = $115,743 million, or $115 billion.

Thus, 136 times as much money is spent on gold, than silver, by investors each year. Silver has absolutely no cachet, true, so true. And yet, the fundamentals are so much better, precisely due to that lower investor demand. When investors get educated about silver, they buy hand over fist, and create shortages at major coin shops around the world.

“Demand from the photographic sector has been falling fast … It’s no longer an important source of demand.” For gold, the picture is somewhat different. Mine production is expected to hold steady this year, but analysts expect output in South Africa, a major producer, to fall over coming years because the ore that remains is deep and expensive to access.
Wow. What a totally biased statement, telling half truths that are totally irrelevant to silver vs. gold. These guys must either know nothing, or be intentionally trying to hammer silver prices. Silver’s declining photography demand is being offset by rising industrial demand and the tiny increase in the tiny investor demand.

Fabrication demand — jewelry and coins — is expected to continue unabated as rising incomes in emerging market countries such as China and India allow people to choose gold over silver.
More hatchet jobs against silver are expected, while they continue to say that silver prices will be expected to fall, while silver prices actually rise. The reason that the establishment will not tell you to buy silver is because they don’t have any. The investment demand is so tiny, they hardly have any silver at all, and have never been able to enter the market in any size. How can wall street establishments, who receive bail outs by the Fed, to the tune of $20 billion dollars at a time, buy any silver when the silver market is swamped by less than $1 billion of investor demand annually?

Be fruitful, multiply and you will see through the lies. Buy silver. They lie. – Jason Hommel www.silverstockreport.com

Note from JWR:

I heard from SurvivalBlog reader Lawrence W. that the “James Wesley Rawles” Wikipedia biography has been exhumed from the graveyard of political incorrectness and is once again being debated. If you are an experienced Wikipedia editor (read: you’ve had a Wikipedia account for at least a year), and you’d like to comment on the deletion of the article one way or the other, then please chime in, politely. If you are not an experienced wiki editor, then please refrain from commenting, or it will do more harm than good.

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 of my participation in [Boy] Scouting and later through Army ROTC (I can relate very well to the ROTC Basic Camp experience of the character in your book, having humped up and down Agony and Misery at Fort Knox in 1983 myself). I started some halfhearted preps but then life happened. A marriage, a career as a paramedic, then as a Physician Assistant and now a consultant. I have four kids, a mortgage, and life in the ‘burbs. That has a way of lulling you into the kind passivity that makes the shadow of the valley of death seem ominously close.

Recent events in our economy, our government and the looming elections with nary a trustworthy candidate have left me restless and seeking. As a result of this I stumbled across your book and read it with great interest. My wife is reading it now and has come to the same conclusion I had – we are not ready for what is coming.

Which brings me to the point of my e-mail: My wife and I need to connect with like-minded individuals in our area – we need to join a group. However, finding a group is proving to be difficult at best. We have skills to offer, we are rapidly building up our preps and we are studying all we can – but we realize now the need to align ourselves with others who can help us learn and grow and work together if/when the Schumer hits the fan.

Do you have any suggestions for us on how we might locate/contact groups in our area (North Texas) who may be looking for members? Thank you for any assistance you can give – and thank you for your book and blog. – Matt W.

JWR Replies: I get one or two e-mails like yours every day. They all ask, in essence: “How do I find like-minded people that I can team up with, in my area?” I usually offer two suggestions:

1.) Wear a SurvivalBlog logo T-shirt or hat around town, or on trips to the shooting range and gun shows. They make a great conversation starter. I have had several readers write to tell me that they found some great friends this way.

2.) Place a free ad at the The Survivalist Groups [“Meet-up”] web page–(a free service courtesy of the folks at SurvivalistBooks.com. If you use this service, then please give SurvivalistBooks.com some business!)

Needless to say, use discretion when using these services. As prepared individuals, you have more to lose than most folks. For your safety and security, it is better to go through a long series of correspondence and to do some background and reference checking before revealing your locale and details, or meeting face to face. Proceed with prayer!

Two Letters Re: Cooking Aromas and Post-Collapse OPSEC

James:
On the subject of limiting cooking aromas, there is a cooking technique that has been catching on lately in this country. Sous Vide cooking, which means “Under Water”, started in France by using food placed in vacuum sealed bags and then placing them in hot water (160-to-185 degrees Fahrenheit) for a long period of time. Here’s a link describing the method: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide

Many recipes can be found on sites such as the one offered by Food Network, or type “Sous Vide Recipes” in the search engine of your preference.

This method is used in large food operations, such as the casino company that I currently work for. We provide food in this manner for five large resorts out of one kitchen. I have used this method, in a much smaller scale, on my excursions into un-named wilderness areas with much success.

The important thing to remember after pulling the food from the hot water: if you will not be eating the food immediately it is absolutely imperative to cool the bags of cooked food as quickly as possible to prohibit bacteria growth. This is easily accomplished by using an ice bath. Your vacuum packed, cooked food will keep for weeks this way and even longer if frozen after cooling.

I hope this helps. – Desert T (An “old school” trained chef)

 

Mr. Rawles;

Some cooking smells can be avoided by covered pit cooking in clay pots. Take hot coals from your fire and layer them in a hole about 12 to 18 inches deep, take your food and season, wrap in foil or place in a covered clay pot. Of course use a large thermometer to gauge temperature to cook to [the proper] food specifications. Regards, – TD

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader EG mentioned this Science in Africa article: Make your own 220 Volt [AC] backup power supply Of course the same principles apply to readers in countries with 120 VAC utility power, by substituting a 120 VAC inverter and the appropriate prong pattern plugs and jacks.

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Ian and John M. both mentioned this Wired article: Survival Gear That’s Just Crazy Enough to Work

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I just noticed that we surpassed te threshold of 3.3 million unique visits. Thank you so much for making SurvivalBlog such a resounding success! Please continue spreading a the word. Just adding a “Read SurvivalBlog.com–It May Save Your Life!” blurb to your e-mail footer would help tremendously in growing our readership. Many thanks!

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Ronald D. suggested this think piece on the implications of Euro-denominated crude oil: Paper Tiger

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"If we run into such debts, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses; and the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they now do, on oatmeal and potatoes; have no time to think, no means of calling the mismanagers to account; but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers." – Thomas Jefferson

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 your trash on EBay and get a [positive] PayPal “cash balance”. Fees notwithstanding, this “cash balance” spends like “cyber cash” with vendors who accept PayPal, if “cash” is such a thing in cyber space, but again, that is not my point here. It is a means to an end. Nothing more.

And we should all agree that there is no point in using credit to stock up. So my solution is turn trash into cash and then cash into stash!

Fir example Honeyville Grain accepts PayPal and sells brown rice, wheat, flour, and the food grade buckets and Oxygen absorbers to store it all–nearly anything you could want. And here is the kicker: they charge a flat fee of $ 4.95, regardless of the size of your order!

I know it is not as simple as a trip down to your local COSTCO, but we have seen how that works lately. The prices may not be dirt cheap, but for a person who is home bound, in a difficult geographical area (high rise dweller), or at a distance to supplies, you can sell useless white elephant trash on eBay, print postage right off your computer, the mailman comes and gets it, you earn a “cash balance” in your PayPal account, you order your food, and it comes to your door. “Easy peasy.”

I do hope that the ambivalence some feel toward eBay and Paypal will not stand in the way of your sharing what may well be a very useful tool for someone who needs creative solutions for preparedness in this fast changing situation. Most kindly, and Semper Fidelis – Laura C. in Virginia
P.S.: My friend the former Marine calls me “Caroline Ingalls, Olivia Walton, and Sarah Conner all rolled into one!”

JWR Replies: Keep in mind that Honeyville’s prices (pr pound) tend to be higher, since they “build in” the shipping costs to their prices. Also note that several SurvivalBlog advertisers accept payment via PayPal for non-gun related merchandise.