Survive and Thrive August 2020: The Clock is Ticking: You Must Protect Your Family

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Dear Survivor,

If you’re looking to be a member of my Survive & Thrive club, click here.

If you live anywhere near Chicago/Seattle/Portland, you’re asking me, how much longer will it take for them to come to my neighborhood? Recently over one weekend in Chicago dozens of people were shot, nearly 20 of them fatally. In Seattle, twelve police officers were hurt in violent protests. And in Portland, the Police Association office was burned. What a weekend.

Listen, the clock is ticking for you to do everything you can to make you and your family a hard target. In other words, as difficult as possible to damage you or a loved one. Thugs like easy targets.

When you visit my property, the first thing you see isn’t the “Welcome” mat, it’s the “24 Hour Video Surveillance No Trespassing” signs. Visit me at night, and you’ll be lit up like a Christmas tree by motion-sensing spotlights, captured on video, and reminded how I vote by my NRA window sticker. Even in RI it’s legal to open carry my rifle. And I’ve been meticulously counting calories as I add to my food storage supply.

Two words about death rates and masks: volatility and useless. You can see the chart below for death rates, and for masks, if you can breathe then the virus is getting in, and it’s getting out. As Dr. Mercola points out here, surgeons wear masks to keep spittle and bacteria from open wounds— masks do not inhibit viral spread.

The best defense against the virus is heavy air like we’re experiencing here on the east coast. It’s the three H’s: Hazy, Hot, and Humid. Heavy air sinks a virus aerosol like an iceberg does the Titanic. Coastal New England is a great place to be right now, not stuck inside down south in the A/C.

But get this, just as the Weather app warns about “Air Quality” in Boston, the government is opening cooling centers just perfect for spreading a virus. You really can’t make this stuff up. You have the tools at your fingertips to become a hard target.

Americans Respond to the “Defund the Police” Movement by Arming Themselves

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You may have heard the saying “when seconds count, police are minutes away.” That’s true in normal times, now imagine how long response times will be when police are defunded across America.

If you have any doubt about whether or not Americans are paying attention to the attempt to defund the law keepers, doubt no more.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board explains that “When citizens conclude cops won’t protect them, they buy firearms.”

They write:

Patricia and Mark McCloskey are the couple made instantly famous—or infamous—after a video showed them wielding firearms as they fended off protesters who had trespassed on private property outside their St. Louis home.

The Circuit Attorney for St. Louis, Kimberly Gardner, reacted by issuing a statement saying she planned an investigation, and that her office will not tolerate any effort to chill peaceful protest by the “threat of deadly force.” Never mind that Mr. McCloskey says he and his wife feared they’d be killed. As they told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “the only thing that kept those mobsters, that crowd, away from us is that we were standing there with guns.”

If soaring gun sales are a guide, millions of Americans are with the McCloskeys. This week the FBI announced a record 3.9 million background checks for June, the highest monthly total since the FBI began keeping the statistic in 1998. Adjusting to reflect checks only for gun purchases, the National Shooting Sports Foundation says this works out to 2.2 million, a 136% increase over June 2019. NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva says about 40% of these checks are for first-time gun buyers.

This is a warning to the Defund the Police movement about unintended consequences. The more progressives push policies that mean cops won’t be around when people need them, the more they are inviting Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights to protect themselves.

You have read many times here on Your Survival Guy the words of encouragement, get your guns and your training now. Now millions of Americans are listening.

Will you?

Every Family Should Own at Least One Shotgun: Here Are Three

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Every family should own at least one shotgun for home defense. A home defense shotgun should possess specific qualities, including:

Easy to use
Rugged and reliable
Easy-to-find replacement parts/accessories

Easy: You want a gun that’s easy to use. If the worst happens and you wake up to trouble in the middle of the night, bleary-eyed, and forced to fight, you don’t want to have to think too hard about your home defense shotgun.

Rugged: You also don’t want your home defense shotgun breaking or jamming in the middle of a fight. You need a gun that’s rugged and reliable.

Parts: And if, god forbid, your firearm malfunctions or needs repair, you want one you can quickly acquire parts for, which means a popular model from a major gun company.

With those criteria in mind, I have chosen the top three home defense shotguns for me. I say, “for me,” because every gun owner has different needs and expectations from their firearm. You may value ammo capacity or rate of fire more than me. That might make your list of home defense shotguns different than mine.

For my purposes, though, there are three superb home defense shotguns on the market.

My Top 3 Home Defense Shotguns:

Remington Model 870: The Model 870 is a classic pump gun that’s been in use since 1950. Remington has produced over 11 million. Most use the traditional tube magazine, but Remington now makes a model with a detachable magazine called the 870 DM. The 870 comes in models for hunting and defense. I like the Model 870 Express Tactical Magpul seen below.
Mossberg 500/590: The first Mossberg 500 rolled out in 1960, and over 10 million have been produced. Mossberg’s 500 shotguns are “the only pump-action shotguns ever to pass all US Military Mil-Spec 3443 requirements–the heart of which is full interchangeability of parts in the field, and a 3000-round endurance test using buck shot loads.” If you live near the ocean, you may consider the 590A1 Marinecote model shown below. Marinecote is “an innovative Talfon and nickel formula which penetrates into the pores of the metal to provide protection you can count on.” That should help fight corrosion in salt-air environments.
Benelli M3: There’s something unique about the Benelli M3. It can be operated as either a pump-action or as a semi-auto shotgun. This feature is especially useful for police or military units who want to fire less-than-lethal rounds like bean bags or rubber bullets. The low recoil of those rounds isn’t enough to power a recoil system, so having a pump option is a great alternative. Added options come with increased complexity, so that’s something to keep in mind if you are drawn to the Benelli.

Whichever shotgun you choose, it has to be right for you. Take advantage of local gun ranges or gun clubs where you can often “try before you buy.” And most important, get your guns and your training now.

Survive and Thrive this Month.

Warm regards,

E.J.,

“Your Survival Guy”

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P.S. At LewRockwell.com, Dr. Joseph Mercola notes that COVID-19 mortality is falling, and may soon dip under the epidemic threshold. He writes:

Even though the COVID-19 mortality curve has been flattened, mainstream media outlets continue to push doomsday predictions of an impending explosion of deaths. The New York Times, for example, published articles July 2^1,² and July 3,^3,⁴ 2020, basically warning everyone to not get excited about plummeting mortality rates, as the trend could change at any moment.

“Why Virus Deaths Are Down but May Soon Rise,” its July 2 headline states. The article goes on to claim “coronavirus trends in the United States are pretty dark right now” — based on surging case numbers, meaning positive test results, not hospitalizations or people exhibiting actual symptoms.

The article attributes the steady and relatively rapid drop-off in deaths to improved medical treatment and older people being more cautious, but warns that “Deaths may be on the verge of rising again,” because “middle-aged and younger people are acting as if they’re invulnerable” and have increased their social activities.

“Their increased social activity has fueled an explosion in cases over the last three weeks, which in turn could lead to a rise in deaths soon,” The New York Times states,^5,⁶ adding:
“With testing now more widespread, it’s possible that the death data will lag the case data by closer to a month. (In a typical fatal case, the death comes three to five weeks after contraction of the virus.) If that’s correct, coronavirus deaths may start rising again any day.”

This, however, completely ignores data showing that the COVID-19 fatality rate for those under the age of 45 is “almost zero,” and between the ages of 45 and 70, it’s somewhere between 0.05% and 0.3%.^7,^8,⁹

COVID-19 mortality — which had declined for the last 10 weeks straight — is currently at the epidemic threshold, meaning if it slides down just a little more, COVID-19 will no longer meet the CDC’s criteria for “epidemic” status.

By Vadim Georgiev @ Shutterstock.com

P.P.S. Anyone with success is fleeing blue state cities.

“I’m outta here.” Those were the words Joe Rogan told his guest Joe De Sena recently. “Here” meant California, where Rogan has lived since 2003.

Where is Rogan moving? Texas.

Rogan’s criteria for choosing his destination:

Center of the country
Easier to travel to both coasts
A little more freedom
An uncrowded area

Implied in his point “a little more freedom” is the lower–read: zero–income tax rate in Texas. Rogan recently signed a mega-deal to move his popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, to Spotify. The deal is worth $100 million, and moving to Texas could reportedly save Rogan $13 million in income taxes.

It’s no wonder Rogan, like many Americans, is looking for a better America.

P.P.P.S. If you’ve been with me during this crisis, then chances are your investments are in good shape. I can’t guarantee it, but I can guarantee you’re smiling inside when someone asks how your portfolio is doing.

We all know the guy who tells you he sold at the top and waited out the bottom. That guy, however, still has to figure out when to get back in (if he was ever in, to begin with).

As far as I’m concerned, he would have been better off collecting dividends and reinvesting them at lower prices and perhaps picking up some cheap, high-income bonds.

It’s because of times like these that you’re with me. I care about you but have no time for the guy I described above. If a loved one expresses concern about their situation, you want to help. You always want to help someone you care about. Remember, every stock needs to have a reason for being in your portfolio.

I think of you when I look around at this speculative craze. Is it time for us to talk? Only you know if a serious talk will help with your financial planning. I would love to help you. Let’s have that talk. The calm of a storm is fleeting. Don’t miss this boat. If you’re serious, and only if you’re serious, about your financial situation and your family’s financial and personal security, subscribe to my monthly Survive and Thrive newsletter by clicking here.

You can email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.