Month: March 2014

Notes from HJL:

Notes from HJL: Concerning the emerging story coming out of Jemez Springs, New Mexico, we have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have no love for the TSA and wouldn’t be surprised by the actions I have seen taken, but there is apparently more to the story. C.L. sent in this link showing that the TSA triggered on the idea that the sheriff was traveling under a different name. o o o Also, P.W. instructs us that the reason the FDA is clamping down on drug companies over animal antibiotics is to target the industry that routinely …


Guest Article: March in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, by Steven Chochran of Gainesville Coins. Every month, we’ll take a look at the “month that was” in precious metals (PMs), covering everything from price action to the information that’s driving the numbers. Major Factors Affecting Precious Metals Of course, the thing that dominated the news in March was Russia’s invasion of the province of Crimea in Ukraine and annexation of the area into Mother Russia. Something, that got less attention but had just as much effect on gold, was the failures in China of “shadow loan” funds. UKRAINE. Russian troops poured …


Pat’s Product Review – DIVVY 250 Water Purification System

The DIVVY 250 emergency water filtration station, designed in conjunction with Clearly Filtered and www.aquamira.com and manufactured in Logan, Utah, is one of the best water purification/filtration systems to come along for large group use in a long, long time. As SurvivalBlog readers know, from my previous articles on safe drinking water, my family and I are obsessed with having different methods available to provide us with affordable and safe drinking water, on a daily basis or in an emergency. You can have all the guns, ammo, and food stored away for a SHTF scenario that you can afford. However, …


Pat’s Product Review – Blackhawk’s MOD SFK Folding Knife

The Blackhawk Products MOD SFK folding knife has a very “tactical” look to it. It appears, at first glance, to be a double-edge folding knife, but the top edge isn’t sharpened. Made in Italy from N690Co stainless steel, it’s quite the folder for backup to your main self-defense weapon. I understand that this is a very popular folder with law enforcement and military personnel. I’ve reviewed several knives over the years that were manufactured out of N690Co stainless steel, and I don’t know exactly the chemical formula for this steel, but it holds an edge a long, long time and …


Recipe of the Week: Biscuit Throwdown

Hugh, I saw the biscuit recipe posted on the blog, and I suppose for a survival situation it’d make do, but here’s a recipe that I developed, which has critical customers telling me these are the best biscuits they ever ate. I usually serve this with my scratch recipe sausage gravy. Anyway, here’s my biscuit recipe. (In Texas, biscuits either have to have buttermilk or sourdough in them to be considered authentic, but then Texans don’t put beans in their chili either. LOL) Big Ben’s Buttermilk Biscuits Everyone’s got a traditional biscuit recipe these days. The ingredients aren’t nearly as …


Letter Re: I Will Tell You a Simple Tale

JWR & HJL; The article by M.R., “I Will Tell You A Simple Tale” from 3-29-2014, is probably the best, deepest in meaning of all the posts that I have read to date, and that is a LOT! It is clearly and directly written, and touches on (no, explains) what honor and loyalty are and mean. As M.R. states, all the beans, bullets, and bandaids are for naught, if you don’t have honor and loyalty. I fear that those attributes are too seldom recognized and are more precious than the “things” that we strive for. I could go on and …


Letter Re: Craigslist, PSYOPs and Other Ramblings.

Hugh, JR, and the rest of my fellow patriots: I would like to ask your readers who, like myself, have used Craigslist (and maybe similar sites) for years to do everything from buy and sell farm animals to random goods to meeting other people via the personal ads. Have you come to the point where you’re so frustrated with even using CL because of the onslaught of phony, obviously robotic in nature, responses you’ve received either from your own ads or others? Call me crazy, but perhaps it’s a direct result of our very own government’s attempts to not only …


Economics and Investing:

Is this the path that America is on? Despite poor economic news and ongoing protests, Caracas’ stock exchange grew 452 percent in 2013. (From an “alternative news source” with an anti-U.S. agenda) – J.S. o o o What happened to the traditional home buyer? California has the highest percentage of young adults living at home with parents. Existing home sales collapse. o o o Items from The Economatrix: People Have No Idea A Terrifying Global Meltdown Is Coming The US Is Trying To Pass A Bill That Will Protect Banks From Toxic Real Estate Loans As The Real Estate Bubble …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Diet drinks linked with heart disease, death. This is another case where correlation does not necessarily mean causation. The link has found a higher percentage of disease and death in those who drink diet drinks, but the beverage probably has little to do with it. Those who drink diet beverages generally have an unhealthier lifestyle. I have long wondered if a diet soda and slice of pie was a little bit like matter/antimatter. o o o We’ve been here before: The Ebola Outbreak Is Spreading: Pray to God It Doesn’t Hitch A Ride To The West. After three decades in …



Notes from HJL:

Today we present another entry for Round 51 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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, Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value), A $300 gift certificate …


Come, Dear Friends, Fellow Preparers, and Interested Readers; I Will Tell You A Simple Tale, by M.R.

I was raised by two people that survived a depression, a world war, and a conflict called “Korea” to know the value of a dollar, to be resourceful, to be “smarter than the average bear”, and above all, to live with honor and integrity. I am a man that in these “seven years of plenty”, has been storing grain for the years of want that are yet to be. I am exceedingly happy that these seven years have been stretched into several decades in this particular nation, but I see the writing on the wall and know that it cannot …


Letter Re: Thanks for the Information

Hugh, I am now a senior citizen of 66 with a 56 year old wife. I’m a former Vietnam era infantry platoon leader, infantry OCS at Fort Benning, and Ranger trained. I had sworn never to again carry a firearm after I left the service. However, recent events in my upscale suburb of Cleveland, Ohio caused me to rethink my promise. We have had two break-ins in the area from gangbangers out of the city seeking goods to trade for drugs. Recently two girl-cashiers were killed during an armed robbery of a gas station four miles away. Also, very recently, …


Economics and Investing:

The Dollar Cannot Be Devaluated and Suicidal Bankers. When serious problems for the dollar surface, as they surely will, and the U.S. has little or no gold to fall back on, the U.S., with its back to the wall, may become a very dangerous entity in the world. Would it be possible for those running the U.S. to loose their heads and choose a suicidal nuclear war in response to a desperate economic situation? Does the destruction of the whole world matter to men about to take their own lives? Do suicidal bankers worry about the fate of the world? …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Sounding incredibly familiar to the 1994 fiasco with Olympic Arms (and the OA-93), some manufacture has apparently created a commercially available pistol that fires the 7N6 5.45×39 cartridge, and true to form the ATF has reclassified the steel core ammo as armor piercing. There is no word yet as to who has produced the pistol (or, like in 1994, if any of them have even really been sold yet). o o o SurvivalBlog has previously reported on the Jemez Springs Sheriff’s trouble with the TSA (and by association, the DHS) for attending a Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association conference. …