Letter Re: Why Christianity? and Recommendations on the Great Lakes

Mr. Rawles,
I just finished your novel (“Patriots”), after a marathon reading session that consumed my entire weekend. It was marvelous. I loved every aspect of the book except all of the religious references aimed towards Christians. Can a man of your obvious intelligence really believe that “being a good Christian” elevates someone morally to a higher level than perhaps a Muslim, Jew (yes you showed respect in the book for [a Jewish character’s] beliefs, but…), or myself a fence riding atheist? I want so much to believe in god, but it appears that god has abandoned this world.

Secondly, I have a logistical question that you may or may not be able to answer. I currently live in Florida, but I was born and raised in Wisconsin. If you are familiar with that part of the country do you think that upper Wisconsin, or the Upper peninsula of Michigan would be desolate enough to ride-out trouble that you and I both see coming? I grew up hunting and fishing…living off the land for our meals on camping trips, but I worry about being “cornered” by the Great Lakes. Am I just overly paranoid after reading your book or do I have a legitimate problem? I’m finally in a financial position to start preparing for the future good or bad; but it would be a moot point to in that area of the country if I have no means to leave if necessary. I miss the area terribly, and feel comfortable there knowing that I can survive and even thrive there without a map. I’m sure you get hundreds of similar e-mails like this, I’m no better or worse, smarter or dumber than any of the other people. What I would like to do sometime with you is debate theology with you; I’m always looking for someone to convince me there is a god; and if you play, I’d love to play chess with you. I’ve beaten champions, and been destroyed by hoboes in the park at the game. I find it mirrors life in a lot of ways. Thank you for your time and your efforts to save everyone. – P.J.S.

JWR Replies: Thanks for your e-mail. In answer to your first question, I sincerely believe that Judaism and Christianity constitute the moral underpinning in western societies, and that the Ten Commandments are the basis of our legal system.With devout faith, people behave well toward one another regardless of whether or not a formal system of law and order exists. But without faith, in the absence of law and order (such as during a major disaster or a societal collapse) I only expect to see anarchy, widespread theft, and violence. This is not to say that there are not atheists and agnostics that have morals. Some, like you, clearly do. But I believe that you are in the minority. For the past 40+ years, the state-run school systems have preached “moral relativism.” (in essence, claiming “There are no absolutes of right and wrong”, and “what is right for me may be wrong for you”, et cetera.) The product of this system has been two generations that now do their best to get away with whatever they can. The higher crime rates, gang violence, drug abuse, pornography, graffiti, shoplifting, et cetera are all clear evidence of this dramatic change. Much of this change has crept in insidiously. In a situation where law enforcement is non-existent, I am certain that the vast majority of people will have no compunctions to take what they want, and that good portion of them will kill without much hesitation. I would much rather have conservative Christians or Jews for neighbors. I hope that you can understand and appreciate my position. (Although since you are a non-Christian, I don’t expect you to embrace it.)

In answer to your second query, I cannot speak for Wisconsin, but I think that the Upper Peninsula (“U.P.”) of Michigan will probably be a good place to ride out an economic collapse, as long as you have a large firewood supply. (By which, I mean an honest three winter supply, already cut and stacked.) Water certainly isn’t a problem there. You will find that most of your neighbors will already be fairly self-sufficient. If and when things fall apart, I predict that the vast majority of refugees and looters from the major metropolitan centers such as Chicago will head south. The first winter without grid power will be enough to convince them of that! Thus, the U.P. will in all likelihood remain relatively intact. My only two areas of reluctance on this recommendation are 1.) The risk posed by the higher population density of the Midwest and Great Lakes region (versus the lightly populated intermountain west–the region that I most highly recommend), and 2.) The entire region would be downwind of fallout-producing ground bursts on the missile fields of Montana and Wyoming. Granted, this is a less likely scenario, but if it were to happen, I would not want to be downwind!

As for your concerned about getting “cornered”, in my opinion that would only be an issue on the U.P. if you were north of Houghton or out on Mackinac or Bois-Blanc Islands. Otherwise, there is plenty of room to maneuver.

Letter Re: Indian Reservation Boundaries a Determining Factor for Retreat Locales?

James,
In your posted list of ‘Recommended Retreat Areas‘ you address Indian tribal government as a ‘minus’ because of an extra layer of bureaucracy only for Oklahoma. Doesn’t this apply to each and every state which contains reservations? Your top 12 recommended states all have reservations on them. Might not that Indian Nation independence be a benefit? Or, since my knowledge on Indian Tribal Lands and their political position being quite slim, might I just be missing some very basic information which would lend one to see the true position? I have been doing some research but haven’t uncovered anything which I would call reliable. But I never give up! 🙂 Thanks, – Ken

JWR Replies: I have mixed feelings about owning land inside the boundaries of a tribal reservation. I generally recommend against it unless you are of American Indian descent. If nothing else, living “on the res” means an extra layer of bureaucracy and certainly an extra jurisdictional layer, including Tribal Police law enforcement and a tribal court system with its own sovereignty. There is no way to predict in which ways the tribes might assert their sovereignty in the future. At present, this is relatively unobtrusive. For example, inside some reservations non-Indians have to buy a one day tribal fishing license in addition to an annual state fishing license. Indian tribal courts generally have a good reputation, but why subject yourself to an additional jurisdiction, with its own peculiar set of laws, when it can be avoided by simply buying land that is outside of the reservation boundary?

Two Letters Re: .50 BMG Rifles

Jim:

Those willing to pay a top price for .50 BMG rifles should look at the EDM Arms Windrunner, which bests the Barrett for accuracy, and takes down to a 4-foot-long case (heavy) for more discrete transport. It is also is available in .338 Lapua. They can sell you a “.338” [marked] receiver, which is unlikely to be a banned caliber, and a .50 BMG bolt and barrel. [Based upon the Form 4473] the feds will know only that you have a .338 rifle, and not that you also got some 50 caliber parts along with it, to make your rifle identical to one stamped 50 BMG (read: “ban me”) on the receiver. But the ideal is an AR lower (bought legally in most states in a private want ads sale) with your choice of upper, including a .50 BMG. Barrett and EDM have owners who have taken tough stands against California’s efforts to ban their products. – Mr. Bravo

 

Dear Jim,
In response to several threads I’d like to offer the following links: www.ultramag50.com this is a magazine fed, bolt action .50 BMG upper for an AR rifle. I haven’t handled one yet, but their machinework looks exceptional, and I find their attitude more professional than that of a couple of the other upper kit makers. [Their site has] good information on what they have. I would recommend the 29″ barrel, or even ask for a custom 36″. An 18″barrel is just too short for a .50. For single shots, www.cobb50.com has some very interesting options, and also their Multi Caliber Rifle built on an AR type receiver. – Michael Z. Williamson

Odds ‘n Sods:

The Colorado drought continues.

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SurvivalBlog reader J.N. mentioned Congressman Bartlett’s 2005 Peak Oil Presentation to the U.S. Congress. (The video takes a lot of bandwidth, but a PDF transcript with views is also available.)

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FEMA Wasted $1.4 Billion in Hurricane Katrina Aid

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Buckshot (of Buckshot’s Camp) mentioned a couple of specials: His “Misadventures” book is currently available with free postage. If you order both his Misadventures book and his new Survival manual, they will cost just $21 with free shipping. Retail on the book is 13.95 and the manual is $9.95 plus 5.90 S&H total would be $29.80. (Thus a savings of $8.80.) Buckshot’s new DVD will be $49.95 unless they are a SurvivalBlog 10 Cent Challenger subscriber–then it will be just $24.95. He also mentioned that he heard from his suppliers that prices will soon be going up on snares, most likely in July. So if you have been hesitating, get your order in for snares soon!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The only purpose of a government is to protect a man’s rights, which means: To protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, an agent of man’s self defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those who start the use of force. The only proper function s of a government are: The police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud from others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective laws. – John Galt in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged

Letter Re: Asian Avian Flu and Waterfowl Migratory Flyways

1) I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet, but there is a map of “Waterfowl Flyways of North America” (put mouse cursor on icon in lower right corner and click to enlarge). This shows the routes that migratory ducks and geese follow when they return to the southern USA in the fall after mingling with Eurasian migratory birds in the subarctic over the summer.
2) That is, the map shows the primary routes along which Avian flu would be transmitted into the USA:
a) Coastal bays like the Chesapeake and Delaware on the East Coast and San Francisco on the West Coast ,
b) Major rivers like the Hudson (New York), Susquehanna (Pennsylvania), Potomac (Maryland/Virginia), Mississippi plus tributaries (Midwest),
Ohio (Midwest), and Columbia (Oregon) , and
c) Either side of major barriers like the Rocky Mountains, the deserts of Nevada/Arizona, and the Sierra Mountains
3) Note that it’s possible that an Avian flu pandemic might persist for several years, since flocks of migratory waterfowl form a “reservoir” in which it can culture –in the same way that the plague is preserved in prairie dog colonies of the Southwest USA and infects people every year. See: “Plagues and Peoples” by William McNeill.
4) As an exercise in “survivalist paranoia”, it’s interesting that Porter Goss abruptly resigned as Director of CIA back in early May — a few days after the White House released it’s Pandemic Flu plan. Most people don’t know that Porter Goss is quite wealthy –well over a million net worth. In the 1960s after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Porter Goss left the CIA and settled on Sanibel Island near the bottom of southwest Florida — one of only a few spots in the USA that would have survived the massive fallout from a Soviet Nuclear Strike.
5) Now, the news reports that “Goss and his wife own a central Virginia farm, where they raise cattle, sheep and chickens. ” See very bottom of this article
It just so happens that Porter Goss’s Central Virginia farm is one of the few spots in the country that does not have geese carrying Avian flu flying over it.
6) When the pandemic hits, interstate transport shuts down and the politicians in Washington are feeding on each other like cannibals –literally, not just politically — Goss will be setting on his front porch eating homemade cheese, sipping homemade Cabernet and enjoying the rural sunset. Laughing his behind off as he tells his wife about how Donald Rumsfeld talked
Vice President Dick Cheney into buying a $2.9 Million estate on the Chesapeake Bay–an area which receives the largest dump of migratory goose droppings in the country. Regards, – D.W.

Two Letters Re: David in Israel on “When the Only Tool You Have is a Hammer” Syndrome, and Building a Post-TEOTWAWKI Shelter

James:
G’day, just a quick comment on David’s well reasoned article. Ragnar Benson has a good set of plans and quite well written instructions on building an “A” frame cabin, from scratch, along with a list of kit you will need to make it easier contained in the book ‘Living Off the Land in City and Country’. We used it as the basis for our ‘holiday cabin’ (that’s what we tell
our friends/relatives) and it seems to work quite well even after five years of weathering the varied Australian seasons. It is a bit more involved than a simple lean to, but if you are planning a long stay, it could well be worth the effort. Ours took the two of us four weekends and one full week (call it 14 days all up) to complete.
I did like the bit about the greenhouse, can anyone guess the next thing to be built on our scrub block? As a plus, it will give us some additional rainwater catchment area. I would not have thought of the large garden shed approach, but in hindsight, it seems obvious. The shed, a potbelly stove for heat and cooking, a portable greenhouse, a means of collecting and treating the rainwater runoff, and you would be well ahead of the curve, at least in the shelter department. Cheers, – Dave

JWR Replies: Benson’s book is still in print an available through Amazon.com. But for the best price, get a copy through eBay.

Jim,
A book I highly recommend is “One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey” by Sam Keith. It shows how to make a cabin with the most simple tools. Excellent DVD on this as well. Though Alaska is not the ideal locale for long term , this book shows what a desolate lifestyle is like. Excellent read! – Jason North Idaho

Letter Re: .50 BMG Rifles on AR-15 Receivers

Dear Jim:
I was reading Boston’s Gun Bible last night and he recommended purchasing a 50 BMG rifle because he believes that it is most definitely at the top of the “too be banned list.”

1.) Do you think that the .50 cal. is an intelligent purchase for a survival scenario?

2.) Boston mentioned a 50 BMG AR-15 conversion package where the .50 caliber upper is used on an AR-15 lower receiver to convert it to a [single shot] .50 BMG. (And, no FFL is required.) What is your opinion of this system? (The approximate cost is $2,000 for a single-shot bolt action. No magazines are used.)

3.) Barrett makes a .50 BMG rifle for about $8,000. And, for this price, do you like this brand? Or is there another .50 cal manufacturer that you would recommend? – B’shem Yahshua HaMoshiach, – Dr. Sidney Zweibel, Columbia P&S

JWR Replies: I do recommend buying one .50 BMG rifle for each family or group retreat, if you budget allows it. However, I’d recommend buying one only after you have bought your primary .308 rifles, your .45 ACP handguns for each adult as well as your key food storage and other logistics.

The brand that I recommend is the Spider Arms Ferret .50. It is a no-FFL .50 BMG upper kit that goes on a standard.223 AR lower. I believe that the “paperwork free AR upper” approach is preferable because it is both the most economical and low profile. It is important to use all legal means to avoid a paper trail, since “.50s” on Form 4473s might be subject to close scrutiny at a later date.) OBTW, I prefer the longer (36″) barrels. (The 18″ barrel offered with the Ferret .50 is way too short and the standard 29″ is a bit short to maximize the ballistics of the .50 BMG cartridge.)

In answer to your question on Barrett rifles, I would rather have a Ferret .50, or perhaps two of them, plus a lot of .50 BMG ammo and cash left over–all for the price of one Barrett.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Mat the Prop Wizard sent a link for another great article from Make magazine. This one describes emergency arc welding, using automotive batteries. Cooool! I had heard this technique described by some off-road jeep rally buddies, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen the details in an article.

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Rourke mentioned that the Sci-Fi Channel is getting into the act, with their own “Countdown to Doomsday”–with numerous Doomsday Scenarios

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Independent Petroleum Geologist Jeffrey J. Brown’s commentary: “Has oil peaked?: Yes”

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The Homeland Security Department says that The U.S. is Not Ready for Disasters

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Man’s mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act, he must know the nature and purpose of his action. He cannot obtain food without a knowledge of food and of the way to obtain it. He cannot dig a ditch — or build a cyclotron — without a knowledge of his aim and the means to achieve it. To remain alive, he must think.” – John Galt in Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged

Note From JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction (for a fully stocked M-17 Advanced Medical Bag/Rucksack) is at $250. Special thanks to the fine folks at Ready Made Resources, who kindly donated the kit. Please submit your bids via e-mail. This auction ends on the last day of June.

 

David in Israel on “When the Only Tool You Have is a Hammer” Syndrome, and Building a Post-TEOTWAWKI Shelter

One of the most frightening aspects of attempting survival especially in North America is surviving the survivalists. These pseudo-survivors dutifully stock up arms and ammunition at great personal expense but fail to do any other planning expecting to presumably live off of the spoils of the MZBs (mutant zombie bikers) who they eliminate. A physical therapist once gave me a bit of wisdom about his trade and people in general; “every back problem looks like a surgical fix to a surgeon and chiropractic care is the sure cure to a chiropractor”. (Clearly the good doctors do not do not fall into this category.) There is an old saying: “When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail.” In the same vein if your only survival tool is a well stocked weapons battery every problem looks like a gun fix. The hungrier and colder you get, the more you may fall into the MZB category. Consider a proper USFS type Pulaski tool, which is a combination axe and digging hoe. This tool is at least as valuable as any firearm to a survivor!

The biggest weakness for the first few weeks post-TEOTWAWKI is the lack of proper shelter. The land upon which your domicile will rest is discussed elsewhere we need to think of appropriate solutions for the area you are planning to relocate to if it is required. These solutions being prompt at best will allow even the “grasshoppers” a chance to have a more livable dwelling if they have to bug out.

Your Car or a Tent
The tent not so bad for a short stay–around a week–but your tent is best saved for last unless it is of a heavy canvas or military type. Provision for heating must be considered. A military Arctic tent and wood/diesel stove is designed to be sledded into a remote area by a skier. Your vehicle provides cramped quarters and extremely fuel intensive heating, unless you have a camper van or canopy for your truck this is also a week at best type venture. A big benefit initially for being inside your vehicle is quick retreat.

Prefabricated Shelter
If given a little warning a small utility shed could be dismantled and loaded onto a trailer. Check your shed now to see if this is a possibility. A better solution is to order a small shed with a proper door and maybe a window and long overhang for a porch. These can be loaded onto a trailer or even a pickup bed and assembled at your selected retreat. I place the greenhouse in this same category. You will need food. During the winter, vitamin malnutrition is a serious problem, several hundred dollars spent on a shed and another few dollars spent on a decent greenhouse can make the difference.

On Site Materials
If your are a very successful hunter (highly unlikely for the first few years post TEOTWAWKI due to massive survival over hunting) the tepee might be an option to replace your tent. A better option in many parts of the USA, Europe, Canada, and Russia is the log cabin. The log cabin is reasonably simple to build and requires beginner skill for a small home. Practice is very useful it would be worth your time now to build a log doghouse or even table top model to give you practice for the real thing.
Without a modern hardware store window glass, hinges, rebar or spikes for joints, a cement chimney and a solid door will be difficult to improvise. The main tools required is an axe, plumb lines, marking tools, compass, and rule. All of these except the axe can be easily improvised. Four large, man-movable rocks with a flat surface will suffice for the corners of a small cabin something 3M x 4M,. Anything larger would require additional rock foundation on the long sides. A proper lock-notch reminiscent of Lincoln Logs can stand in for spiking if none are to be found. Work in one direction with the stacking alternation top to bottom so fit is better on every layer. Don’t worry about gaps under around 5 cm as you will be stuffing mosses between every layer for wind-proofing and insulation. After the house is built make a jam-stick to force more moss or similar material into the gaps. If you can, wait until the wood is seasoned then mud it over. (Green wood shrinks and would require re-stuffing and re-mudding.) A roof can go from pine boughs to sod to shingles depending upon time and materials, if you had the foresight to include thick plastic or tarp in your gear this when sandwiched between pole layers makes for a decent temporary roof liner. Pad it with sod to prevent wear and punctures. Forget about peaked roofs unless you are in heavy snow country where a log A-frame would be better, tall roofs waste all of the heat near the top while you are freezing. A short building with a shed roof is better. Your door is a difficult addition to the cabin, a dig under is simpler but less comfortable, lag bolts for the frame plus cross placed lock logs (think the short Lincoln logs) may make this safer. Consider a combination dig-out and short door for your entry with buckskin to cover the opening. A fire ring inside your cabin and a buckskin flap vent hole in your roof will allow you to heat and cook but BE CONSERVATIVE WITH THE FIRE! Clay and stone might be used to build a chimney fireplace but be wary of the temptation to improvise by using mudded over wood for a fireplace. A bed is made by making a mini cabin in the same rectangular shape of your bed with a roof of poles cover with 10-20 cm of boughs cut when they reach nearly pencil
size 8-9mm. The largest dangers with an improvised the cabin are collapse and fire. Consider bracing and cross members in a un-spiked cabin. Be careful with fire.

TEOTWAWKI could happen anytime. Have shelter and food preparations made. Install a mobile, shipping container, shed or other shelter on that piece of land. Don’t be a grasshopper well armed and trained survivalists with no stored food or shelter are the scariest MZBs of all. Hunger and cold allow people to justify the most outrageous decisions. Even easier to justify decisions such as armed robbery when your family is hurting. We will all stand to be judged by the Creator of the universe in the end.

Letter Re: Understanding the Terrorist Threat Requires Understanding Their Mindset

Dear James,
I witnessed a live presentation from “The Three Ex-Terrorists” several months ago. For those who want to understand the mindset of an Islamic terrorist and the ability to completely change one’s life, their story and insights provide actionable information. One of them killed over 200 people. They have presented to government officials but they are too politically incorrect for the liberal media to do more than very short interviews with. See also www.shoebat.com.- Yorie in Pennsylvania.

JWR Replies: Lest anyone think that SurvivalBlog is overtly political or religious, I’m posting Yorie’s letter and links for a reason that entirely transcends politics and religion. The Islamic terrorist threat in North America, Western Europe, and Australia is a real and present danger. The advent of weapons of mass destruction has increased the terrorist threat by several orders of magnitude. Never before in history have a handful of fanatics had the potential to kill tens of thousands of people and destroy an entire national economy. World War I was started because of the assassination of a European royal by a lone terrorist. The incidents of 9/11/01 (with 3,000+ deaths) radically changed our perception of the damage that a few terrorists could wreak.

And people wonder why I “deprived” my family by moving them to a lightly populated region…

Odds ‘n Sods:

Al Qaeda Cell Had Plans to Gas New York Subways

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Rourke recommended this informative site on home ethanol production: http://www.homedistiller.org/ If you spend a lot of time researching there, or end up building a still based on their plans, be sure to send them a contribution.

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Does anyone make a “Red Gun” or “Blue Gun” Model 1911 non-firing training pistol with a magazine well and a functional magazine catch? (I’m in need of one here at the ranch, so we can teach our kids presentation drills as well as tactical and emergency reload drills.) My web searches thusfar have been unproductive.

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From Wembley England, comes a news story about a three year conviction for possession for a “large quantity” of ammunition, that all fit in a rucksack. Large quantity? If they ever saw the ammo cans that I have stacked in Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (the JASBORR), they’d have a heart attack.

 

Northern Tool & Equipment (one of our Affiliate advertisers) has announced that that will be offering free shipping on all UPS Ground orders over $149. This promotion starts Monday, June 19th and ends on Wednesday, July 5th. You will need to enter keycode 90473 in order to receive the shipping discount. This is a great offer, especially if you want to order a heavy item such as generator.