Here’s another ad, called “The Deficit Trials,” which was rejected by all three TV Networks in 1986. The debt was only about $2 trillion back then; today it is more than $14 trillion.
One of the obvious lessons we can take from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami is the need to be individually prepared for any catastrophe, no matter what the cause. There have been many news stories coming out of Japan about people having to go for several days without food or water. Fresh drinking water, or the ability to purify contaminated water, is obviously something that needs to be part of your preparations. Many people in Japan probably thought their government would help them in the event of a catastrophe, but it is clear the government is not able to cope with such a large emergency.
A central theme of Backwoods Home Magazine through the years has been the need to take individual responsibility for yourself and your family, and that includes having enough food and water and other supplies on hand in the event of an emergency. If you get forced out of your home, we’ve stressed the need to have a “grab and go” kit. We’ve warned that the stores would quickly run out of food and everything else in an emergency, and that has happened in Japan.
I’ve asked Oliver to create a special section on the BHM home page that links to some of our past preparedness articles. (They’re in the box located just below the photo of the new issue.) Please take the time to read some of them, and take a lesson from the current catastrophe in Japan and reexamine your preparedness. Beef up your pantry and other supplies if need be, and check out the adequacy of your “grab and go kit.” Don’t expect others to help you in an emergency; you must be able to take care of yourself.
You have the luxury of time on your hands now to plan your preparedness. Don’t miss this opportunity.
I’ve updated the links in the previous post about tidal surges in our local harbors, as the local newspaper to which I linked does not allow access to archived (more than a day or so old) files. The new links give much more information.
We’re back from the Home and Garden show in Eugene, Oregon. We took about 35 new subscriptions, which is half what we normally take at the MREA show in Wisconsin. This show was more for suburbanites who want to redo their kitchen or install a jacuzzi. There were very few people there looking for self-reliance information. So we’ll look around for more compatible shows. Shows featuring sustainable technologies fit us better.
But we did get to visit with son Jake, as he took the bus down from Portland State University and worked the booth with us. I think it was a good break from class work for him. Lenie’s sister, Cindy, who has an Alpaca Ranch called Alpacas at Hum Sweet Hum nearby in Corvallis, also worked the booth with us.
I’ve had some emails inquiring about the magazine and family in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and the resulting tsunamis released across the ocean, so I thought I’d explain our situation.
Lenie and I are in Eugene doing a Home and Garden show for the magazine, so are monitoring things back home by phone. Annie and her kids and our kids evacuated Gold Beach when the Tsunami siren went off and have been staying at our house further up in the mountains. We kept the office closed and told the staff to stay home. No significant waves arrived in GB, but there were plenty of scared people.
One person was swept out to see from near Crescent City and is missing, while two were caught by waves, then rescued, at Pistol River just below where I live. Two more were similarly caught by waves, then rescued, at Myers Creek just south of Gold Beach. We’re keeping track of the aftershocks in case they generate more tsunamis, and of course we’re concerned about a nuclear reactor meltdown since the prevailing winds may bring any released radiation our way.
Lenie and I will be at the Lane County Home and Garden Show in Eugene, Oregon, this Thursday through Sunday, March 10-13. If you want an enjoyable day checking out home and garden stuff, drop by. BHM will be one of 325 exhibitors, so this is a large show, comparable to the MREA Energy Show in Wisconsin that we attend each year.
It will be at the Lane County Fairgrounds ~ Convention Center & Expo Halls 13th & Jefferson, Eugene, Oregon. Hours are Thursday and Friday 5-9pm, Saturday 10am-9pm, Sunday 10am-5pm. For more details, click here.
We typically do only one show a year — the MREA Energy Show in Wisconsin — but we’ve decided to do some shows close to home to avoid travel expenses and the fatigue associated with flying or driving a couple of thousand miles. This show is only a four-hour drive from the BHM office.
By next year, Lenie and I will have sons going to college in Portland and Corvallis so that gives us an excuse to do a few more shows in these more populated areas of Oregon.
We always have big discounts on all BHM products at a show. And, as usual, if you wear a BHM T-shirt (we’ll sell you one at the show), we’ll give you a free BHM anthology. We’re very generous at shows because we just love getting that personal feedback from readers.
I was toying with asking John Silveira and O.E. MacDougal to come to this show and sign copies of The Coming American Dictatorship. If enough people request it, I’ll do so.
The following charts are from the American Precious Metals Exchange. From top to bottom they track the price of silver for one, five, ten, and twenty-year periods.
I’ve long thought that inflation, possibly hyperinflation, was in America’s future as a way of both paying off its debt and solving the Social Security and Medicare problems. I’m beginning to think the future may be arriving. I was hoping serious inflation would hold off for another year or so, but this is a bad sign.
Of course we’re already experiencing inflation in food prices. Yesterday my wife paid $4.55 for a loaf of whole wheat bread.
