Purchasing Power: Past, Present, Future- Part 1, by L.M.

How did I end up here? Now I can feel the noose tightening! I learned about the gallows early. I began to notice in the late 80s. Perhaps that is when I became self-aware, no longer like a Jack Russell that has no fear fighting a German Shepard, not one who has no idea how big he is or that he is a dog. A Jack Russell even considers you to be part of the dog pack. Are you willing to become self-aware or perhaps you prefer the pack.

“It is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”- Mark Twain

“Humankind cannot bear very much reality,”- T.S. Eliot

Normalcy Bias: It refers to a mental state of denial in which individuals enter into when facing a disaster or pending danger. Normalcy bias leads people to underestimate and minimize both the possibility of a catastrophe actually happening as well as its possible consequences to their health and safety.

Cognitive Dissonance: It is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values.

In 10th grade I was taking college classes in macroeconomics. I began to recognize the role that every American was expected to adopt in this grand play– pretending that the USD has value and ignoring the fact that it is loosing value. In this role I was to pretend that the dollar is strong and desired worldwide, that gold is a barbarous relic, and that tomorrow will be like today (since America always comes through and it never can happen here). I found that our currency system is a debt-based Keynesian pit of hell. I am not part of that dog pack or the sheep herd.

I knew that the USD was a private currency system from my early college days. In that era, the truth had some value. In my macroeconomics courses the founding owners, purpose, and processes of the federal reserve were explained. I understood that I willingly participated in a private currency system owned by the federal reserve. Paper bills identify the owner of that $1, $5, $10, et cetera. The federal reserve owns these notes.

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The United States authorized the printing and distribution of these notes. The United States owns these.

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The terms of the arrangement were not made clear, and the choice to participate was made for me after I was born. It began with a social security card. Since I grew up with it, I had never thought of an alternative currency. Being a private currency system means that the owners can prevent your participation. They set the purchasing power and the quantity of USD created. They can prevent me from participating simply by dropping my credit score. If one has an extremely low credit score they are locked out of the private money system or allowed to participate at a very expensive meager level. Try getting a meaningful job, a low interest loan, or a credit card with a credit score in the 400’s. Why would I continue to participate in a system that steals from me via inflation, attempts to cast a cloud of fear over me by brandishing the IRS, makes or break any rules they wish, kills without conscience, steals gold from anyone in the world, rigs every market, prints USD without ceasing thus reducing the purchasing power, and lies about who they are in their real purpose to manipulate the stated inflation figures to steal cost of living increases. I could go on. Just who in the world do you think the federal reserve is? They are the organization that determines how much currency to create and the value of that currency. Before going any further, it may be important to clarify a riddle:

“By this means government may secretly and unobserved, confiscate the wealth of the people, and not one man in a million will detect the theft.” – British Lord John Maynard Keynes (the father of ‘Keynesian Economics’ which our nation now endures as our ‘currency policy’) in his book, The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1920).

Just what in the world is that supposed mean? Will that help me understand why I feel trapped? Is this an element of the tightening noose? Prepare to be the one person in a million to realize the theft. Then, you may understand just what kind of currency system harms all of us. The value or purchasing power of a dollar does not stay constant when there is inflation. The value of a dollar is realized in terms of purchasing power, which is the amount of tangible goods that currency can buy. When inflation goes up, there is a decline in the purchasing power of currency. For example, if the inflation rate is 2% annually, then theoretically a $10 neck tie will cost $10.20 in a year. Suffering from inflation, your dollar cannot buy the same goods it could beforehand. Look at coffee cans! Give up the same amount of USD but receive less quantity. It’s an inflation live example! At the time this coffee was purchased, coffee was going down in price at the wholesale level. However I am paying the same for more than three ounces less than before! That’s 13% Inflation! This coffee was purchased last year– in 2015. Hmm… $&%$#@!

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Wait, that does not demonstrate that the federal reserve has stolen from me?

The USD loses value or purchasing power when there is inflation. This is possible when there are too many dollars chasing the same goods; a shortage of goods can also cause price inflation, new discoveries can cause inflation, successful market placement or the popularity of a good or item can cause inflation (think Elmo from a number of years ago), or perhaps supply chain problems, such as gasoline pipe lines severed, can cause inflation. Too many dollars chasing the same or fewer number of goods is the most wicked form of inflation because your USD is losing value or purchasing power. You must see this concept in your mind’s “eye”. Yesterday there was a pile of eggs, steaks, corn, 2x4s, concrete, and a pile of USD. Today, the pile of goods is still the same because it takes time, growth, production to increase the pile of goods. However, the federal reserve created an additional 10% of USD out of nothing. No commodity was supplied to justify or trade for the 10%. It takes a number of months for that 10% increase to impact your purchasing power, but when it does you will pay approximately 5-10% extra for all of these “goods”. The problem is that they are creating USD constantly. Think of real inflation between 4%-10% each year since 2007. The inflation rate is much higher, almost double, than what federal government reports. (I will prove this later.) This is extremely difficult on anyone that is living on a fixed income. Typically wages would move to match the effect of inflation, giving you extra earned income but not today.

Today, there is significant uncertainty in the market. Businesses are not willing to spend or grow using their credit or available cash. When there is doubt about future stability, families and businesses alike tend to adopt a wait and see attitude. That is where we are today. The federal reserve has allowed quantitative easing, or creating USD out of thin air, to debase the currency. As you will see later in my story, this gives us an inflation rate that is higher than the federal reserve/federal government can possibly admit. As you will see, the method of arriving at a true inflation rate, as measured by the CPI, has changed after the 1980s. Here I will show you the inflation level from the 1980s and the inflation rate of 2015. You will see quite a circus as the federal government steals purchasing power, cost of living index raises, and a greater negative impact affects the stated Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP is a tally of the goods and services produced in the USA in a year. Inflation reduces that number. Really anything that is associated with the rate of inflation is skewed since the federal government changed the method of calculation.

According to a study conducted by Peter Schiff in Gold Silver Worlds January 16, 2016, in the 1980s the government began using the new “chain weighted CPI”. This slight of hand has saved the government, or more appropriately stolen from those dependent on a cost of living increase, hundreds of millions of dollars since.

“Therefore the team randomly identified price changes of 10 everyday goods and services over two separate 10 year periods, and then compared those changes to the reported changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the same period. The 10 selected items are: eggs, new cars, milk, gasoline, bread, rent of primary residence, coffee, dental services, potatoes, and electricity. Just to make sure, the team ran the same experiment with 10 different goods and services: sugar, airline tickets, butter, store bought beer, apples, public transportation, cereal, tires, beef and veal, and prescription drugs. The results were notably similar.

The prices were analyzed in the period between 1970 and 1980 and then again between 2002 and 2012, because these time frames both had big deficits and loose monetary policy. But they straddle the time in which the most significant changes to inflation measurement methodology took effect.

Between 1970 and 1980 the officially reported CPI rose a whopping 112%, and prices of the analyzed basket of goods and services rose by 117%, just a 4% faster than the CPI. In contrast between 2002 and 2012 the CPI rose just 27.5%. But the basket much faster, accounting for a 62% difference!  So the methods used in the 1970’s to calculate CPI effectively captured the price changes of the analyzed goods, but only got half of those movements more recently.”

It used to be that the CPI, or Consumer Price Index, reflected the cost to maintain a constant standard of living of the same basket of goods, month

after month, year after year. Thus, we see the result of the comparison between 1970-1980 above. Then the fed became enlightened, believing that if one of the items in the basket suffered inflation the consumer would opt for a less expensive alternative, thus allowing them to take the more expensive item from the basket and replace it with the lower cost alternative. Maintaining a constant standard of living implies that you are dealing with the same basket of goods month after month. Now we are swapping out steak for hamburger and hamburger for hot dogs. You think that is dishonest? Wait! There is more!

From the Contra Corner, Jim Quinn, july 20th, 2015, “Lies, Damned Lies & The BLS Inflation Statistics”

The original concept of CPI was to measure the true cost of maintaining a constant standard of living. It should reflect your true inflation of out of pocket costs to live a daily existence in this country.

Instead, it has become a manipulated statistic using academic theories as a cover to systematically under-report the true level of inflation. The purpose has been to cut annual cost of living adjustments to Social Security and other government benefits, while over-estimating the true level of GDP.

Did you see that? If they calculated the rate of inflation using the pre 1980s method, it would have a negative impact on the already pathetic GDP! In this article he compares items that could have been included in the 1980 and prior basket:

“Their weighting of everyday living expenditures is warped and purposefully misleading. Let’s look at the annual increases in some food items we might consume in the course of a month, living in this empire of lies:

  • Ground Beef – 10.1%
  • Roast Beef – 11.8%
  • Steak – 11.1%
  • Eggs – 21.8%
  • Chicken – 3.7%
  • Coffee – 3.4%
  • Sugar – 4.2%
  • Candy – 4.6%
  • Snacks – 3.5%
  • Salt & Seasonings – 5.3%
  • Food Away From Home – 3.0%

Check out the article. You will not be disappointed. Article Lies, Damned Lies & The BLS Inflation Statistics.

It has been observed that gold and silver will rise to offset the loss of purchasing power to a satisfactory degree. For example before 2007 gold sold for $300-$350 an ounce. Today and ounce of gold is $1,320. This is a type of indicator reflecting the direct negative impact of inflation on the dollar. Now you need an additional $1,000 to purchase that same ounce of gold. Did gold go up in value? No! The USD lost value. You need about 300% more of them to buy the same thing. Your house, hopefully, has its value rise over time. Is that a function of rarity? If the home is in a desirable location, perhaps. I’m thinking prime lake shore. Most homes are not in that category. Absent a glut causing deflation, your house would typically rise in resale or replacement cost over time. Is this because there are more people seeking the typical house? In some locations. The house that was purchased 20 years ago for $120,000 has risen to $175,000 or higher! You need more USD to provide the same value of purchasing power. Hopefully, as they say, your house will keep pace with inflation just like your wages and like our ounce of gold above.

Eggheads will argue all day about the cause and effect of inflation. Who cares? I am not interested in inflation caused by rarity, disasters, product popularity, and so on. I am interested in protection against the loss of purchasing power, the quantity and value of the dollar. This is the government stealing from you. How? Number one you pay additional taxes as costs rise. Two, they steal the currency power, energy, or ability. The federal reserve creates $100,000,000,000– one hundred billion USD, and they spend that USD on whatever. They were able to purchase more of their item because the purchasing power of the newly created USD has not suffered the impact of inflation brought about by more USD chasing the same goods. Then the effect of the newly created billion dollars works into the system as inflation, reducing the value, energy, or power of the dollar within a relatively short period of time. Then you have to pay more for the same item. Had the government sold something for 100 billion dollars, they would have placed commensurate value into the market. They could have sold land for the 100 billion USD. This is what we do. If we need some extra currency, we sell something. We do not create currency out of nothing.

There are several variations of currency value fluctuation:

  • Deflation is when the general level of prices is falling. This is the opposite of inflation.
  • Hyperinflation is unusually rapid inflation. In extreme cases, this can lead to the breakdown of a nation’s monetary system. Hyperinflation happened in 1923 Germany, when prices rose 2,500% in one month.
  • Stagflation is the combination of high unemployment and economic stagnation with inflation. This happened in industrialized countries during the 1970s when a bad economy was combined with OPEC raising oil prices. It happened in the USA.

“The financial system has been turned over to the Federal Reserve Board. That Board administers the finance system by authority of a purely profiteering group. The system is Private, conducted for the sole purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profits from the use of other people’s money” – Charles A. Lindbergh Sr., 1923

News From The American Redoubt:

This small company in Potomac, Montana makes “competition grade” ammunition, with many extra inspection steps to assure quality control and uniformity. Their loads use canister smokeless powder and top quality Nosler bullets, again for uniformity. They offer a 10% military service member discount. Their regular production loads include: .223, .243, .270, 7mm Mag, .308, .30-06, and .300 Win Mag.

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I noticed that Falkor Defense (in Whitefish, Montana) has expanded their line of AR-15 and AR-10 variants. These are definitely made to the highest specifications.

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Seattle won’t release its gun tax revenue; here’s why Meanwhile, the city’s gun sales are being outsourced to the suburbs.

JWR’s Comment: Things are much different east of the Cascades, in The American Redoubt. This law is just one more reason why Eastern Washington will eventually seek formal partition from the leftist/statist western half of the state.

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From Krayton Kerns’ Weekly Posting of the Conservative Cow Doctor: Abandoned

Economics and Investing:

David Stockman warns both Trump and Clinton could lead to 25% sell-of

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Gold Surges While Stocks And Bonds Melt

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Is the Rise in Price Inflation Transitory?

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94,609,000 adult Americans not in the labor force: In January 2009, 80,529,000 were not in the labor force. Now we’ve added 14 million Americans.

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As The World Awaits The U.S. Election Outcome, Buckle Up For Some Rough Times

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

At Risk Is Nothing Less Than the Right Ever to Resist Again – B.B.

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Inside Adam Savage’s Cave: The Bourne Identity Burn Bag

JWR’s Comment: If other preppers had the “prop guy” level of obsession about their REAL go bags, then they’d be very nicely equipped.

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Election Chaos Fears Have Preppers Stockpiling Survival Food – C.J.

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An interesting map to help you determine the potential energy independence of your location (or target likelihood) – J.M.

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Las Vegas PD Continues To Use Faulty $2 Drug Field Tests Because Convictions Matter More Than Justice – H.L.

Notes for Monday – November 07, 2016

We have some sad news; Don Kates, a yeoman advocate for American gun owners’ rights passed away on November 1st. Even the leftist Wikipedia describes him glowingly: “His scholarship and litigation played important parts in the modern renaissance of the Second Amendment. Additionally, Kates played a major role in bringing together scholars and opinion leaders. Along with Stephen Halbrook, Kates deserved the primary credit for making the Second Amendment scholarship an important topic of modern scholarly interest.”

Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Ruger P-89 9mm

In our ongoing quest to test and review more “metal” semiauto handguns, as requested by many SurvivalBlog readers, I thought it important to review the Ruger P-89, in 9mm. The P-89 is an updated/upgraded version of Ruger’s first centerfire semiauto handgun. The original was the P-85, and Ruger was hoping to get it out in time for the U.S. military trials for a new handgun. Alas, the Beretta 92/M9 won out. There were some early teething problems with the first batch or two of P-85 handguns. There were a few reports of the firing pin slamming forward when the pistol was de-cocked and firing a round, which is not a good thing. Ruger, as is their wont, corrected this on P-89 pistols that had MKII on the slide by repairing and updating them. The P-89 is an improvement on the P85 MKII.

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I was living in Colorado Springs, Colorado when the very first P-85 hit the town. Only one gun shop had it– a gun shop that specialized in dealing with law enforcement, as I recall. People literally stood in line, to see and handle the lone P-85 sample. I was one of them. I was struck two ways when I saw the pistol. My first impressions were “what an ugly gun” followed by “that is sure futuristic…”. To be sure, Ruger was selling every single P-85 they could make, and there was still a very long backlog. I want to say, the retail price was under $300 for the P-85 when it came out. I didn’t get my hands on my own P-85 until the summer of 1988, at which time I managed to get two of the guns.

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All was not good with one P-85 sample. I wondered why the slide would lock-open during firing. It locked only halfway open, and it took some pounding to get the slide to close. After a few more shots, it did the same thing, over and over again. I ended up selling that gun in short order. However, the second P-85 sample just purred right along, never missing a beat.

A quick look at the P-89 is in order, and keep in mind that this is merely an updated/upgraded version of the original P-85. The 9mm version held 15 rounds of the hottest 9mm ammo you could stuff in the magazine.. The gun weighs 32 oz. The frame was anodized aluminum, and the slide was carbon steel, gray in color, as was the frame. The barrel was 4.5 inches long, and the gun came with 3-dot white sights– one dot on the front sight and two on the rear. It was a single-action/double-action. The first shot was a long but very smooth double action, and the following shots were single action. It was still a fairly long trigger pull. There is also a de-cocker on the slide, so you can de-cock it when you are done firing, before the magazine was empty. The de-cocker is ambidextrous, too.

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The front sight is pinned into the slide, while the rear sight was adjustable for windage only, and it is a little bit different in looks and a bit too small, if you ask me. However, it gave a decent sight picture. Anyone who has handled a P-85/P-89 can attest that the gun is chunky, and that is putting it politely. It is not designed for concealed carry use, although with the right holster it is somewhat concealable. It was designed as a duty weapon for law enforcement and the military. The hammer is rounded type, easy to thumb cock if you want your first shot to fire from the single-action mode. The grips are black space age plastic and tough. The grips are actually fitted into the sides of the frame. They don’t stick up like most grip panels do. The trigger guard is plenty big enough so you can get a gloved finger in there. The magazine release is a bit different in that it pushes forward with your thumb instead of pushing inward on the frame. I personally like it but thought it could be a little bigger. The ejection port, wow, is one of the largest I’ve ever seen on any handgun! There are no worries about empty brass getting caught on the way of the gun after firing. The slide stop is more streamlined on the P89 compared to the P-85 version.

Ruger did some testing to show just how tough the P-85 was. They actually cut away a large section of the slide in front of the ejection port and fired the pistol, and it never missed a beat. They also plugged the barrel and fired the gun during testing. The only damage was to the extractor, which was blown out of the gun, but it was replaced with a new one, and the gun continued to run just fine. That is some serious testing.

When I was working as the chief of police, they actually called it a City Marshal position. (It was the only town in Oregon that could legally use the term City Marshal.) In the position, I carried a P-85 on duty quite a bit as did that county’s sheriff. Everyone else carried a GLOCK 17. I also took my P-85 to Executive Security International, for my Executive Protection course. Over a 5-day period of time, I fired an easy 1,500 rounds per day, and the Ruger never missed a beat, though many GLOCKs did!

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The P-89 that I tested for this article was brand new. Yes, you read that right. It was brand new, in 2016, unfired in the original box P-89. Whoever owned it, never fired the gun. The packing grease was still inside the gun, dried on everything. It’s very tough to clean out of the gun. My purchase price was $300 out the door, which is a great deal if you ask me, and it came with two magazines. It had standard Hogue grips on it. It was a special run from Ruger.

I took my new Ruger P-89 home and cleaned it and then ran out to test-fire it. Don’t ya know it; the slide locked up many times. It would not lock open after the last round was fired but lock halfway open, just like my P-85 did in 1988. It took some serious detective work to figure it out, but figure it out I did. The slide was slightly rough on the inside top of it. A little extra material was there. Ruger was using the lost-wax casting method of making their slides, eliminating a lot of hand-fitting, and this one slipped through. A few minutes with a dremel tool removed the rough area inside the slide, and I polished and put some bluing over the area so it wouldn’t rust. The gun was good to go after that. It never missed a beat.

During my testing, I fired more than 500 rounds through the P-89 with no problems, once the rough spot inside the slide was polished down. I had an outstanding assortment of 9mm ammo. From Black Hills Ammunition, I had 115-gr JHP +P, 124-gr JHP +P, 115-gr FMJ, 115-gr EXP (Extra Power) hollow point, 124-gr JHP, and 115-gr Barnes TAC-XP +P all-copper hollow point. From the folks at Buffalo Bore Ammunition, I had 147-gr subsonic heavy JHP, 147-gr Hard Cast FN Outdoorsman, 115-gr Barnes TAC-XP +P all-copper hollow point,124-gr FMJ FN +P+, and their 147-gr JHP +P+! Whew, that was a great assortment of ammo to put through the P-89. Every gun maker will flat out tell you to never run any +P+ 9mm through their 9mm chambered guns. I don’t recommend it as a steady diet. However, I knew the Ruger P-89 could handle this hot load, and it did without hesitation.

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At 25 yards, resting the gun over a sleeping bag and over the hood of my pickup, the best group I could get was 3½ inches. I was hoping for better. The worst group was 4½ inches. However, keep in mind that many firearms instructors will tell you that any handgun that can keep rounds inside of four inches is plenty accurate for combat/duty work, and I concur. Still, I was hoping for a little better in the accuracy department. The winner of the accuracy competition was the Buffalo Bore 147-gr Subsonic Heavy JHP load. All other loads were 4 ½ inches or under. Still, that’s nothing to complain about in the least.

The only change I made to the P-89 was to remove the Hogue rubber grips. I had an old pair of the black polymer Ruger grips in my grip box that I installed on the gun. The gun is chunky enough without the large rubber grips from Hogue, and it just felt better with the thinner factory polymer grips on it.

There are still a lot of the original P-85 and P-85 MkII as well as P-89 handguns floating around on the used gun market, and they are a bargain these days because everyone wants a polymer 9mm of some sort. However, if you long for an all-metal semiauto handgun, you could do a lot worse than the Ruger P-89, if you ask me. It makes a great truck gun. Just toss it in your truck, and don’t worry about it. It will go “bang” when you pull the trigger.

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A note on the Buffalo Bore 147-gr Hard Cast FN Outdoorsman load. If you go to the Buffalo Bore website, you can read about the Alaska guide who stopped a charging brown bear with this load in, of all things, a subcompact 9mm pistol. He was guiding some anglers when the brown bear charged. He did manage to stop the bear. However, I wouldn’t feel all that comfortable armed only with a 9mm handgun in big bear country. I don’t know what this guide was thinking when all he had was a 9mm pistol. In discussing this incident with Tim Sundles, who owns Buffalo Bore, he is of the same mind I am on this. This wouldn’t be his first choice as a carry gun in big bear country. However, he did design this hard cast bullet for extreme penetration, and it delivered!

So, don’t pass on an older Ruger P-85 or P-89 if the price is right. The gun will serve your needs. I wish I could report an happy ending here, but in a moment of weakness I traded my pristine P-89 for a different gun. It was one of those “why did I do that?” moments that I still regret!

– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio

Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Survival Videos

I’m often asked by folks to teach them “survival skills”. This is a hot topic. Just what is meant by “survival” to one person might mean something entirely different to another. As I’ve stated many times, I’m no expert in anything. I’m just a very serious student in a lot of areas. In the past, I have taught some wilderness and street survival skills, but I’m no longer in that market. Survival skills just cover so many different areas that I don’t even know where to begin. If anything, I’m more skilled in street survival skills than I am in wilderness survival. However, that’s not to say I’m not well-versed in wilderness survival skills. Many wilderness skills are more advanced and long-term “camping” skills. At one time, I was a Boy Scout Troop Leader, and many of the skills we taught were camping skills, and that relates to a lot of wilderness survival skills. Remember the Boy Scout motto– “Be Prepared”.

I’ve reviewed a number of survival DVDs and wanted to alert our readers to them. There is some outstanding information contained in these DVDs that can be useful when it comes to survival, all types of survival. First up is “Survival Communications For The Prepared Citizen”. Many Preppers forget about communications in a survival situation, and with all the talk about an EMP attack a lot of folks think they won’t be able to communicate with others. That’s simply not true. If you have some two-way radios or Ham radios that you kept protected in a Faraday Cage or even in an old microwave oven, they will still work once the power grid goes down.

I admit to having a limited knowledge of Ham equipment, and I watched the above video several times before I got a good grasp on the information. Some of the information in this video can save your life. It teaches you all about Ham radios and a communication plan. You’ve got to have a plan! You’ll learn about multiple power sources for communications, licensed and unlicensed communication options, how to assemble a grab and go comms kit, your first radio, and DIY projects. It’s a great DVD.

Many years ago, I was part of a sheriff’s department Search And Rescue team– SAR. As anyone knows, a SAR is called out many times for missing hikers or hunters. However, my skill set involved tracking down wanted folks who were living in the boonies, way out in the boonies. Still, much of what a SAR team does is simply finding lost and/or injured people, and more often than not it is finding hikers and hunters who got themselves lost.

“Survival Land Navigation” is the title of this DVD, and it has outstanding information that is clear and concise. This video needs to be watched several times, and you must practice what it teaches you in order to comprehend all the material. You’ll learn manual land navigation– navigation without a GPS, which is very important in an EMP event where a GPS won’t work. Some of the most important skills are learning to read a map and use a compass, and we aren’t talking about a road map, but they do come in handy. We are talking about using a topographic map of the area you’ll be in. Many folks get lost in the city with street signs clearly marked where they are. These are some of the same people who say that when the SHTF they will “head to the hills….” and survive. Nope! That ain’t gonna happen, especially not without some navigation skills, including reading a topographic map, using a compass, and knowing about declination. I thoroughly enjoyed this DVD, and it is a must have for any Prepper.

Next up is what is called “Survival HD, How To Survive High Desert and Low Mountain Environments.” The instructor on this DVD is Kirsten Rechnitz. Wow! A woman teaching wilderness survival skills? Yes! In this DVD, you will learn serious camping and hard-core survival skills, and the instructor says if you can learn to survival in the High Desert and low mountains, you can learn to survive just about any place.

In the above DVD, you will learn how to find water and procure food, how to build a shelter, and build a fire. You will even learn how to make some primitive weapons, like a spear, for procuring food. There’s lots of great information in this DVD, especially for a beginner who has never been out camping or hiking in the wilderness. Again, it’s a must-have DVD.

The above three DVDs are available from the Survival Summit. Check out their website.

Next up is another DVD and book. These are from the good folks at Infidel Combat Systems. A long-time friend, Chad Cooper, and I have tested and reviewed Infidel Body Armor several times for SurvivalBlog readers.

Some time back, I reviewed the book “Driven” and DVD that went with it and found the information outstanding. The DVD was professionally produced, too. Well, “Driven 2”– the book and the DVD– have just been released, and it was worth the wait. Chad Cooper and his professional crew of instructors did a fantastic job on the DVD, and of course the book is loaded with great information. This is a follow-up on the first book and DVD, and we can look forward to Driven 3– the book and video in the future.

In “Driven 2” you will continue to build on the skills you learned in the first book and DVD, and that includes how to prep for a mission, advanced tactics, how to resist interrogation, how to counter trackers, night driving, ambushes, and many other important topics that you may need is a serious survival situation. I can’t emphasize enough how professionally done the DVD is. It’s worth watching over and over again.

The above book and DVD can be obtained at Infidel Body Armor and is worth the price. You can join and become a member for discounts on products, too.

Be sure to check out all of the above DVDs and the book, if you are serious about learning more survival and preparedness techniques. It would be hard to find schools and instructors to teach you all the material you’ll find in this material.

– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio

Recipe of the Week: Dumpling Soup, by G.L.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 (1 3/8 oz) pkg onion soup mix
  • 6 cups water, hot
  • 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • 1 tomato, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup packaged biscuit mix
  • 1 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
  • 6 Tbsp milk

Directions:

  1. In a slow cooking pot, sprinkle beef with dry onion soup mix and pour hot water over the meat.
  2. Stir in carrots, celery, and tomato.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until meat is tender.
  4. Turn control on high.
  5. In a small bowl, combine biscuit mix with parsley and stir in milk with a fork until mixture is moistened.
  6. Drop dumpling mixture into slow-cooking pot with teaspoon.
  7. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Letter Re: Just In Case: Preparing for the Evening and Day After Election 2016

JWR,

I took your advice to heart. I’m actually not waiting for election day and am assuming the worst case scenario (a Hillary win).

However, one issue I have been worrying about, and I rarely hear anyone discussing it, is the possibility of the government cutting off ammunition and reloading supplies (especially powder).

As far as I know, there is only one powder manufacturer in the U.S. The rest are in Canada, Germany, and France.

It seems it would be extremely easy for a president to issue an executive order to cut off sales to the commercial market or at least put pressure on the companies to severely limit powder production. They know they can’t get all the millions of guns already in private hands but ammunition is a consumable item. It gets used up. It seems it would be an easy bottle neck to choke off.

It goes without saying that the anti-gun lobby has desired a limitation on ammo, first in number of rounds carried in a magazine but also rounds owned or stored. Any number of excuses can be constructed to justify this. (Stock piling indicates terrorism, creation of an arsenal, et cetera.) I can hear the pious BS now. “Who needs more than 10 rounds? You don’t need that to kill a deer…”

I believe powder may become unavailable in the near future. I’d like your opinion on this issue.

Thanks, JPG

Economics and Investing:

David Stockman warns both Trump and Clinton could lead to 25% sell-off

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End Of The U.S. Major Oil Industry Era: Big Trouble At ExxonMobil

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UK court says Brexit needs parliament’s approval, complicates government plans

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Kentucky Plans to Pull At Least $800 Million From Hedge Funds

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

It’s Rigged=> FBI Director Comey Clears Hillary a Second Time – B.B.

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Can One Shoot A Fleeing Robber? – DSV

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France to collect personal data of 60 million with controversial database – G.G.

HJL’s Comment: In an effort to crack down on identity theft, France tries to create a giant database where everyone’s identity information can be stored, because a bad person would never think to hack that database.

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Wanna see my drone collection? The Skywall drone capture launcher NETS those pesky drones…. right out of the sky. (Video 3:30) – T.P.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“If America could be, once again, a nation of self-reliant farmers, craftsmen, hunters, ranchers, and artists, then the rich would have little power to dominate others. Neither to serve nor to rule: That was the American dream.” – Edward Abbey

Notes for Sunday – November 06, 2016

November 7th is the anniversary of the death of actor Steve McQueen (born March 24, 1930, died November 7, 1980). The many well-publicized exploits in his tempestuous life and his enduring persona are well known. However, the end of his life is actually the most noteworthy part of his legacy, even though it seldom gets much publicity outside of Christian circles; he came to Jesus after he had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. He died with his forefinger pointing to his key verse in his Bible– Titus 1:2.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
  9. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  10. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a $125 Montie gear Gift certificate.,
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value), and
  9. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).

Round 67 ends on November 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

“Surviving” an Airedale– Lessons From a First-Time Owner – Part 3, by S.M.

HeartGard and Flea Control

This is a necessity especially in the Gulf Coast summers with the unusually bad mosquito and flea/tick issue resulting from the spring floods. We give our dog Heartgard to protect against heartworms and Nexgard to protect against ticks and fleas.

Dental Disease Prevention

We also use Vet recommended Virbac C.E.T. Enzyemic Oral Hygiene Chews for home dental care. These are a great addition our vet recommended for keeping teeth clean. We purchase them according to our dog’s size at the time and give one a day. (Tip: We also began giving our small, older dogs chews that we cut into one-inch strips from the bigger chews instead of having to buy a separate bag for them. Be careful cutting these, because they can be very thick.) Our canines’ teeth are immaculate and white.

Also great for teeth and chewing is a dog chew toy. Buy the Kong Black XXL. Then, cut or saw off part of the above dental chew and stick it inside the toy with a little peanut butter or cream cheese. Our Airedale loves this and will use it to entertain himself for long periods of time. This may keep him busy for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how long it takes him to remove the dental chew from the Kong. Tip: Really push the chew in nice, tight, and hard to help prevent the dog from quickly removing the chew.

CAUTION! Never leave your Airedale unattended with his Kong or chew. Remove it from his possession before leaving or sleeping. Our year-old male chewed the top off of two of the large Kongs within a month, so we switched to the XXL. So far that’s working okay.

In addition to dental health benefits, these chew toys help address the Airedale’s natural desire to chew everything he can get his teeth on for the first year and a half.

Fun Training At Home

Airedales love a job, so we incorporate fun games into our training using Pup-Peroni Dog Beef Sticks. They’re an excellent positive training tool.

With this smart breed, adding to his understood vocabulary and commands seems to be limitless. We try to add at least one new command/word per week, such as:

“Stay” command at the doorway, so we go out first

“Stay” in cage when taking him out

“Collar” command while in the cage

“Take to the recycle” bin

“Checking the chickens” in their coop

“Let’s go check the mail”

“Bring in recycle bin”

“Bring in trash can”

“Go to the back door” for potty time

“Check the septic line” clean out plug (due to April/May massive floods)

“Go for a ride in the car” in the neighborhood

“Catch it” treats in his mouth

“Backup” command

“Come” command in the driveway with long 30-foot lead after “Stay”

Additional Formal Training- Tracking Class

At eight months we enrolled in a six-week introductory “Tracking” class taught by AKC-certified officials and instructors. He did very well. This is not surprising, since he always is sniffing the ground with his enormous nose. This skill obviously could be very beneficial in a grid down setting. We were provided excellent methods and techniques for ground scent tracking. Using an old leather glove and his Pup-Peroni treats, he learned to track straight, long curves, left and right turns, et cetera. This provides a fun thinking exercise for his curious mind and his natural desire to work.

Grooming

We learned two methods of grooming– clipping and stripping. Several ladies from the local Airedale Club volunteered their time to teach these grooming methods. This enabled us to try different types of grooming equipment before purchasing them. Being a part of the Club also gave us an opportunity to glean from experiences of others in many aspects of having an Airedale. These wonderful ladies had been taught by someone previously and wanted to “pass it forward”. What a great mindset to have with any skill we have. Grooming can be very expensive to have done, so their help was greatly appreciated. As we compared these two methods, we saw that clipping was a much faster method, done more often, and typically on a clean and dried coat. It also changes the color and texture of the Airedale’s coat.

Completely stripping the dog takes several days to do but retains the beautiful deep color and texture of the hair. This method only has to be done several times a year and does not require electricity, allowing it to be done anywhere and anytime. Stripping is done on a dirty coat, saving on the washing and drying time. This method does not hurt the dog when it’s done correctly.

After trying these two methods, we found that our dog does better on the grooming table in multiple short intervals of time. We have decided to strip the jacket and clip/scissor the remainder of the coat. We purchased an extra-long, sturdy 30” tall grooming table, Andis clippers, blade #10, and a medium stripping knife. Clipping the head allows us to get the desired sharp angles for that “Brick head look” and the short clean ski slope appearance on his back end. We use regular and feathering scissors on his nose and furnishings.

Shedding has not been a big issue to begin with, and grooming takes care of what little shedding there was. We have also found grooming to be a great bonding time with our dog and important for the overall health and comfort of the dog, especially being mindful in scissoring between the pads of his feet and keeping his nails tidy. Good grooming has given us a fun sense of accomplishment when we walk our Airedale down the street and someone asks if he is a show dog, to which we reply, “No, but he thinks he is.”

What We Did Right

Up to this point, some of the things we did right include:

  • Quality breeder
  • Crate training in the beginning at eight weeks
  • Both of us attending formal training and using same commands
  • Early car riding practice
  • Grooming techniques, where my wife grooms and I assist
  • Consistent training
  • Socialized early with people and other dogs
  • Science Diet dog food
  • Establishing ourselves as the pack leaders, which is still in progress
  • Choosing a vet who was familiar with Airedales (Our local vet knows the breed.)
  • Keep both collars on with leash even in the house (It’s easier to control and train him when using them.)
  • Being consistent

What We Would Have Changed

Some of the things we would like to have done differently include:

  • Underestimating the tenacity of the breed
  • We should have started the formal puppy training earlier (before six months).
  • My frustration between 4–10 months old, thinking he would never behave; he does now.
  • Spring floods knocked down our back fences, and we’re still working on them surrounding our 1.5 acres, which has required the need for daily early morning walks after his breakfast and lots of training time and play time.

Pros & Cons of Owning an Airedale

The Pros of owning an Airedale include that they are:

  • Very loving
  • Good with people and older kids
  • Loyal
  • Very intelligent
  • Unique in appearance
  • Can be a quick learner
  • Once he decides to learn “it”, he’s got it
  • Quiet, unless he needs something or is alerting

The Cons include that they are:

  • Stoic
  • Stubborn
  • Require crate time as puppies
  • Mouthing
  • Owner’s thinking dog will never behave because of dog’s strong-willed nature
  • Lots of time spent in crate for now
  • Real need to keep the leash and collar on in the house because it’s easier to control the dog. (We’re looking forward to the point when this isn’t the case.)

I believe, in the days ahead, that medium- and large-size dogs will be invaluable for your homestead regardless of the size of your yard. Since most households have a dog, it could be beneficial for a dog to serve multiple purposes, including being a watchdog/protector, companion, friend, and work dog. As evidenced by the stats cited in my research listed earlier, small dogs are the majority currently owned for reasons such as size, ease of training, and cost of dog food. However, large dog ownership has increased, and it seems to be for protection/watchdog reasons. Whether the desire is for companionship, work dog, or protection/watchdog, we have found the Airedale breed to be the perfect combination of those desires. People we have visited with who have previously owned Airedales commonly say that they would love to own another one.

In a recent experience at a very large dog show where the Airedale Club invited club members to bring their dogs and allow dog show attendees to “Meet the Breed,” we were given a wonderful visual of the true nature of an Airedale. Our dogs were in the ring with many people of different ages. A young, special-needs boy got down on his hands and knees and stared at this still-young male dog square in the face. The pup licked that boy like he had known him all his life. Our Airedale behaved like a perfect gentleman the whole time.

In conclusion, this breed is a must-have if you are willing to put in the time required to train and adopt an attitude properly communicated to your Airedale. Remember, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a BIG difference” and “Never give in”. These are thoughts expressed so memorably by the legendary late Winston Churchill.