It's been almost a year since Strength and Honor went live, but it is time for your webmaster to move on to other projects. I originally expected this to be a collaborative project, which would have allowed me to focus more on creating original content, but my partner backed off and eventually disappeared. (I say this with regret, not irritation. I was really looking forward to the project.)

Effective immediately, I have removed the forum, but the rest of the site will stay up, with only a minimum of my attention, for now. Feel free to use the contact page to get to me with questions and comments.

Many thanks to my readers.

Lew Rockwell: Modern Survivalism Tenet Number Three: Growing your own food is for everyone not just people that want “organic” fruit and vegetables

The modern survivalist (i.e. radical right-winger) finds an unlikely ally in the eco-movement in protecting against six great threats to the food supply:

Grain production has been maxed out and we have failed to meet global grain demands for 6 of the past 9 years.
Enough U.S. produced grain to feed a half billion people for a year will be converted to ethanol in 2009.
Many nations are now creating long-term contracts with other nations to lock up the grain being produced by the few remaining large net exporters.
China, India, The U.S., The UK, Malaysia, South Africa and Japan are now all “net importers of food.” Translation: a combined population of over 2.7 billion can no longer feed themselves without foreign dependence.
Many shallow aquifers have been fully depleted and the largest fossil aquifers in the world are now being depleted. 70% of global water usage is for agriculture and we are running out of the water used for that purpose.
Companies such as Monsanto are altering food at a genetic level taking massive risks with our food supply by releasing altered genetics into the biosphere via cross pollination.

The New Yorker: How David Beats Goliath

But when Lawrence looked at his ragtag band of Bedouin fighters he realized that a direct attack on Medina would never succeed. And why did taking the city matter, anyway? The Turks sat in Medina “on the defensive, immobile.” There were so many of them, consuming so much food and fuel and water, that they could hardly make a major move across the desert. Instead of attacking the Turks at their point of strength, Lawrence reasoned, he ought to attack them where they were weak—along the vast, largely unguarded length of railway line that was their connection to Damascus. Instead of focussing his attention on Medina, he should wage war over the broadest territory possible.

Lew Rockwell: Modern Survivalism Tenet Number Two: Debt Is Financial Cancer! Minimize It, Pay It Off Early and Stay Away From Credit Cards

This is another angle to survivalism not normally addressed in survivalist publications, articles, videos, or other educational materials.

Think of a typical image of a "survivalist" even the stereotypical view: tough, able to live off the land, resourceful and ready to deal with any disaster. Does this sound like the guy who whips out a Visa Card when the going gets tough? Would you expect to see a person working to build a homestead and a sustainable life using a credit card "just for airline miles"? Or perhaps, would you expect someone living by the mantra of adapt, improvise and overcome to finance a lifestyle with a home equity loan?

I like that image. Instead of slapping a few coins on the bar, the man with no name walks into the bar full of toughs and slaps down some plastic for his whiskey. Nonetheless, the question will be asked, "should I put that generator or those solar panels on credit?" Like most questions put to Strength and Honor, the author goes back to guiding principles:

While debt reduction is not one of the "sexy" survival topics like home defense, alternative energy or stocking up on food it is absolutely necessary in the creation of a sustainable lifestyle. Remember tenet one – "everything you do should improve your position in life even if nothing goes wrong." Modern survivalism is not just about planning for disasters, it is also about planning for a lifestyle that you can maintain in good times or bad. Most people in debt struggle with that during the best of times, to think that such a person can succeed when there is a disaster is foolhardy.

Ultimately, money is a wonderful servant and a terrible master. Having that magical compound interest work for you is tougher than a "financial advisor" would have you think. Not having it work against you is much easier.

Discuss survivalism, orienteering, navigation, recon, and evasion in The Field.

Lew Rockwell: Modern Survivalism Tenet Number One: Everything You Do Should Improve Your Position in Life Even If Nothing Goes Wrong

[Each] time you are making a decision about where to spend time, money or resources you simply ask the question, “Will this action improve my ability to live a sustainable lifestyle if we have a disaster or even if we don’t.” When the answer is yes you make it part of your survival planning. If the answer is no, that doesn’t mean you don’t do it, it simply means it is a luxury not an investment in an asset that provides for your future and hence you prioritize it accordingly.

Discuss survivalism, orienteering, navigation, recon, and evasion in The Field.

We are not ALWAYS stiff-lipped hardasses here at Strength and Honor. Here is a panel-style debate on whether violent video games are adequately preparing young children for the coming apocalypse:

Bubba008009 on off-grid refrigeration:

Further information from Bubba on a specific brand of propane refrigerators:

Discuss survivalism, orienteering, navigation, recon, and evasion in The Field.

Greg Perry is interviewed on Lew Rockwell radio. Download here.

Discuss music: groups, composers, artists, individuals, and labels in The Studio.