Odds ‘n Sods:

Bureaucracy Kills: A Lesson from Rome. – P.S. o o o South Carolina Inmate Sentenced to 37 Years in Solitary for Facebooking. – H.L. o o o President Barack Obama’s Complete List of Historic Firsts [Updated]. – B.B. o o o Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, not Places. – P.B. o o o The Feds Unveil Its New Surveillance Tool ‘Memex’, Developed By DARPA To Reveal The Hidden Nature Of The ‘Dark Web’







Notes for Sunday – February 15, 2015

February 15th: We’d like to wish Mike Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large) a Happy Birthday! o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 57 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A 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, DRD Tactical is providing a …




The World of the Bug Out Bag, by D.M. – Part 1

To all who are reading this article, all is not well in the world of the bug out bag! It is my hope that this article will: Address the common bug out bag problems. Bring new insight on items that a bug out bag should include but most likely do not. Save you money. There is nothing like putting on a backpack filled with everything that you need to survive and thrive.  After more than 15 years of avid backpacking and other outdoor pursuits, I have learned profound lessons. One of the most profound lessons I’ve learned through hard experience …




Letter Re: IRS to Pay Back-refunds to Illegal Immigrants Who Didn’t Pay Taxes

Dear Gentlemen, In the article titled, “IRS to Pay Back-refunds to Illegal Immigrants Who Didn’t Pay Taxes” by The Washington Times, raised a red flag to me. As a CPA, I try to look out for my clients so that they do not get in any trouble, but the quote below opened my mind to a problem that is coming. The article stated, “Under the new program, if you get a Social Security number and you work, you’ll be eligible to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Mr. Koskinen said. He said that would apply even “if you did …




Economics and Investing:

Economic WAR Between U.S. & Russia, WWIII lies ahead, Federal Reserve is signally economic collapse o o o Capitol City Bank & Trust Co, Georgia, Collapses – Largest Bank Failure of 2015. – G.G. o o o Could Turkey Become the New Ukraine? o o o IEA Sees Oil Prices Bottoming Out, But Not Surging Back To $100-Plus Levels




Odds ‘n Sods:

Yet another Philip K. Dick novel has made it to the screen. This one is an alternate history story: The Man In The High Castle o o o SurvivalBlog Reader JBG sent in this link talking about the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission Report. It’s notable that the report references that there were over nine minutes that passed while the shooter had unhindered access to do his evil deeds. Then the report takes a tangent into left field and makes recomendations that would have had zero impact on this school shooting but certainly carry the left’s anti-gun message. Missing from the …




Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there …




Notes for Saturday – February 14, 2015

February 14 is the birthday of Medal of Honor recipient Jack Lucas (born 1928, died June 5, 2008). During the Iwo Jima campaign, this 17-year-old won the Medal of Honor for unhesitatingly hurling himself over his comrades upon one grenade and for pulling another one under himself. One of the grenades exploded, and Lucas absorbed the entire blasting force of it with his own body. PFC Lucas was the youngest Marine ever to receive the Medal of Honor. (He was just 13 when he forged his mother’s signature to enlist.) o o o Our friends at the View From The …




What I Learned From the Midwest Ice Storm of 2011, by J.M.

The three elements of nature that cause damage– sun, wind, and water. My bet is on the last one, especially the frozen kind. Preparing and acting upon it are two entirely different and opposite things. The rain started in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, without much concern at first. Although the weather report at first said the possibility of ice was real, it would stay south, in Ohio. Lesson #1: Nature is fickle, and even NOAA cannot always track the line between rain, snow, and ice. Predictive weather paths can give you a false sense of security, and margins …




Two Letters Re: Caring for Babies in a Post-Collapse World

HJL, Instead of stocking baby food in jars, I have the Kidco Food Mill. This neat item allows baby to “eat what we eat”. While little baby food jars are good for barter, if I had one or more babies show up at my front door, I would want the food mill. Life would get easier and less stressful right away. – C.G. o o o Dear Survival Blog: FC makes some great points in his article on caring for babies in a post-collapse world. We raised our 11 babies and spent very little on baby food because we had …







Odds ‘n Sods:

It gets worse even quicker from here… Tweeting for Treatment in Venezuela. – H.L. o o o Want To Start A Blog in Philadelphia? You’ll Need A $300 License For That!. – RBS o o o Officials in Missouri are SUING THEIR OWN RESIDENTS for Voting Against Red Light Cameras. – H.L. o o o Homeland Security to be put in charge of info spying. – P.S. o o o CNN Anchor: ‘Our Rights Do Not Come From God’ – T.P. This CNN anchor fails civics class: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, …




Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.” Exodus 23:20-22 (KJV)




Notes for Friday – February 13, 2015

Today, February 13th, is the birthday of both Robert Charles R.C. Sproul, Jr.(born 1939), a well-respected American Calvinist theologian, and General Chuck Yeager (born, 1923), the first man to break the sound barrier. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 57 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A 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 …