Year: 2015

Scot’s Product Review: Panteao Productions Make Ready to Survive Video Series

I recently reviewed a couple of videos on weapons craft from Panteao Productions and found them quite useful. Panteao recently released its first three videos in a series on survival. The press release says they will have a total of thirteen videos, which are to be released over the next few months, to cover the full range of survival topics, from weapons to medicinal plants. One of the things that impressed me about the first two videos I watched was the quality of the instructors– Bill Jeans and Freddie Blish. The survival videos use five instructors, all of whom have …


Recipe of the Week: Taco Soup, by C.H.

I’m from upstate NY, and I love Survivalblog! This is a great recipe for camping or at home. It is very easy and requires almost no prep. Ingredients: 1 lb. ground beef 1 can corn, undrained 1 can black beans, undrained 1 can red beans, undrained 1 package taco mix 1 package dry ranch dressing mix, such as Hidden Valley Directions: Brown meat; drain grease. Dump meat, corn, beans, and dry mixes into a saucepan. (Be sure not to drain canned vegetables). Add water to desired consistency. That’s it. Tastes great! o o o Do you have a favorite recipe …


Letter Re: Keeping Lawmen at Fishbowl Distance

JWR, I wholeheartedly agree with your prescription for law enforcement encounters, but I would add that if the lawmen persist and detain you, your first response should be to ask for an attorney. Without affirmative invocation of your right to an attorney, the questioning will drag on and on. When you request an attorney, they must immediately stop questioning you. However, do not expect an attorney to come waltzing through the door; if you are under arrest, it may take 24-48 hours for you to see one at first appearance, and even then it may be for only a moment. …


Economics and Investing:

More homeless camps are appearing beyond downtown L.A.’s skid row. – JMC o o o How screwed up is the world when savers have to pay banks to keep their deposits and those same banks turn around and pay debtors on their mortgages? This will end badly. – A.M. o o o Dublin Anti-Water Tax Protests Bring City To A Halt. – H.L. o o o Second Bank Failure of 2015 – Highland Community Bank in Illinois. – G.G. o o o Arctic Oil On Life Support


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Curious Dramas of Bowe Bergdahl. – RBS o o o Anoka-Hennepin Schools May Start Depression Screenings – D.S. o o o Venezuela troops to use lethal force at protests. – H.L. o o o Police Dept. Lobby – a great place to buy an un-papered gun. – T.P. o o o Super-cookie crumbles: Verizon vows to kill off HATED zombie stalkers. – G.G.



Notes for Sunday – February 01, 2015

February 1st is the anniversary of the secession of Texas from the United States in 1861. A State Convention considering secession opened in Austin on January 28th, 1861 and on February 1st, by a vote of 166-8, adopted an Ordinance of Secession from the United States. It’s important to note that not all Texans favored this act and the state Governor, Sam Houston, while being loyal to the union, refused offers from President Lincoln to keep him in office and was subsequently deposed as governer. We also remember February 1st, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and …


The Hidden Weakness In Your Defense Plans, by T.S. – Part 2

There are two tried, proven, and scientifically-documented ways to program the unconscious mind. Any professional or Olympic athlete will tell you that visualization works. If you watch winter Olympics downhill skiers stand at the top of their run, they are moving their bodies imagining the run as they want it before they even start. This programs the unconscious to see the same picture that the conscious imagines, and when the two work together amazing results follow. The other way to reprogram the unconscious mind is also well known and documented, though few have applied that knowledge to shooting; it’s positive …


Letter Re: Early Literacy for Children

HJL, I just read C.L.’s blog on early literacy for children, and I couldn’t agree more with the general trend of her commentary. Whether or not a child ever gets post-K12 education, the child, to the best of his or her ability, should be exposed as early as practical to as wide a variety of literature as possible, and not just what is “suggested” by what ever the local school board expects of them. Probably the best investment in personal education is reading anything and everything that can be gotten a hold of, simply to expose a child (a person, …


Economics and Investing:

Is Another “Mortgage Meltdown” on the Way? o o o Market indicators suggesting a correction is coming: On Black Tuesday Shiller PE Ratio was at 30. Today it is at 26.2 and volatility is back in a big way. o o o Corporate Profits Soar, Average Incomes Plummet. – PLC Items from Mr. Econocobas: Greece: Will Syriza or Its Creditors Blink First? Thanks Obamacare: This Is What Americans Spent The Most Money On In Q4


Odds ‘n Sods:

Two More Bloomberglar Mayors Bite The Dust! Here is a familiar refrain, folks: Another two members of Mike Bloomberg’s anti-gun “Everytown for Gun Safety” statist cabal (formerly known as Mayors Against Illegal Guns) have been convicted. The first is Lucie Tondreau, the Democrat mayor of North Miami, Florida, “…on [felony] charges of participating in an $11 million mortgage fraud scheme. She faces up to 30 years in prison for conspiracy and wire fraud convictions when she is sentenced March 20.” The other recently-convicted mayor is Mount Vernon New York Mayor Ernie Davis, also a Democrat, who pled guilty to federal …


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the …


Notes for Saturday – January 31, 2015

Today, we present another entry for Round 56 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 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with …


The Hidden Weakness In Your Defense Plans, by T.S. -Part 1

The mental and emotional considerations of using lethal force to protect your home and loved ones after TEOTWAWKI is not going to be as easy, as you have imagined it. By way of introduction, I am a retired street cop who spent his entire career on the streets of a gang-infested neighborhood in a large, inner city. I have shot people, though none died. On several occasions, I was myself shot at, and I was hit once. I want to share my thoughts and experiences with you, lest you have naïve and unrealistic ideas, which will prove counterproductive, at best, …


Letter Re: Lessons Learned While Living in San Francisco

HJL, After reading this article, I was terribly, terribly incensed at SFPD/OPD. I am a former law enforcement officer from Southern California, and I now work in insurance, handling claims from the Bay Area. Stories like these are unfortunately very common (except for the heroic and dynamic recovery by the author). Hit and run, non-injury accidents, vandalism, and theft from vehicles are basically ignored. My professional advise is not to bother with calling the police unless a suspect is known. The fact that I have to give that advise upsets me to no end. It’s not hard to have good …