Year: 2016

12 Important Books Every Well-Prepared Family Should Own

One question that I frequently hear from my consulting clients is: “What reference books am I missing from my bookshelf?” The following are the “must have” books that I highly recommend: The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (See review, below) Making the Best of Basics – Family Preparedness Handbook by James Talmage Stevens Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon Ball Blue Book of Preserving Cookin’ with Home Storage by Vicki Tate Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook by David Werner Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson …


Letter Re: The Adjoining Canadian Redoubt

The editors/publishers of SurvivalBlog recommend an area in the western United States as the best place to find a resort for the time when the world comes to an end. They call it the American Redoubt, and it includes portions of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, which border on the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. This region has low population, low taxes, and lots of good land. It strongly tends to vote Republican. The irony, from a Canadian perspective, is that the adjacent provinces have a rather different political culture. Saskatchewan has a tradition of alternating government between the socialist …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Holocaust jacket found at tag sale leads to a life story o o o John Jacob of Radio Free Redoubt tells us that Northwest Radio Supply is having a Black Friday sale (Friday only) on several items like Anderson Powerpole Connectors, Wise brand foods and more. If you live in the area of Moscow, Idaho, you may want to visit them. o o o Zuckerberg does an about face on “Fake News” and implements a 7 point plan on Facebook. Progressive censorship at its best (or worst). o o o SurvivalBlog reader H.K. writes in to warn people that even …



Notes for Wednesday – November 23, 2016

Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. …


Gastroparesis and Stomach Conditions in TEOTWAWKI, by APS

Disclaimer: Gastroparesis is a serious medical condition where the stomach shuts down or severely slows down. The Vagus Nerve to the stomach has been damaged or does not work properly. Seek immediate professional help and assistance from your doctor or pediatrician as soon as possible. There are a couple of causes for this condition, mainly diabetes and Post-Infectious Gastroparesis (PIGP). Type 1 Diabetics can get this condition over the years, and Type II Diabetics can also get it depending on complications to the disease. I want to focus on the PIGP, because that is what our family went through with …


Letter Re: Bullion Coins vs American Gold Eagles or Junk silver

Hugh, I saw this on Tuesday’s blog and thought I would expand the thinking a bit. K.W. correctly pointed out that bullion coins, like Krugerrands and Maple Leafs, are often sales-taxed where legal tender coins are not is a notable observation. But it only tells part of the story. I recently wrote an article comparing the many ways to buy, sell, and hold precious metals in their various forms. One big advantage of U.S.-issued and denominated gold and silver coins is that both the current American Eagles and also many older coins are the only precious metal that qualify as …


Economics and Investing:

More info: Dallas on Verge of Bankruptcy Due to Pensions; Just a Matter of Time (For Dallas, Houston, LA, Oakland, Chicago, etc) o o o Dow & Nasdaq Hit All-Time Highs But The Stock Market Is On Borrowed Time, And Will India Ban Gold Imports? o o o Citigroup Leads U.S. Banks Higher in Global System Risk List o o o Symantec to Buy LifeLock for $2.3 Billion to Add ID Security o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Books: Small-Scale Grain Raising by Gene Lodgson How to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyleby Charles Long Movies: Bridge of Spies The Way Back Music: Tempest: Prime Cuts The Waifs: Sun Dirt Water Podcasts: Gritty Bowmen (Start with Episode 173: Bear Attack.) The Wired To Hunt Podcast: Episode #49: Making A Living in the Outdoor Industry Instructional Videos: The Art of the Dynamic Handgun Practical Concealed Carry–Lenny Magill Gear: Bushnell Night Watch with Built in Infrared Monocular. (Your basic “entry level” night vission scope.) Trijicon ACOG TA31-D-100367 4x 32 Dual Illuminated Green Horseshoe Dot .223 …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A bit of humor for you: SNL’s The Bubble – T.P. o o o Secede from the Centrally Planned School System o o o Let’s Expand the Electoral College. “The current confusion about the mechanics of the electoral college appear to be largely a function of the fact that it is now widely forgotten that the United States is intended to be collection of independent states, and not a unitary political unit.” o o o New Website Seeks To Register Professors Accused of Liberal Bias – PLC o o o Feds seek help spying on ‘news articles, blog posts’



Notes for Tuesday – November 22, 2016

Today is remembered as the birthday of the late Eugene M. Stoner (born 1922, died April 24, 1997). He was the designer of the AR-7, AR-10, AR-15, AR-180, the Stoner 63, and several other firearms. (The AR-10 was the basis of the AR-15, which in turn spawned the very widely used M16 and all of its variants including the M4 Carbine.) It has been estimated that as many as 3.7 million rifles from the AR-15 family are owned by civilians in the United States, and military production M16 variants well exceeds 8 million rifles. o o o With Black Friday …


Thoughts On An Often Misunderstood Caliber, by R.R.

I want to share some information regarding an often misunderstood and maligned caliber, which I recently began learning more about after coming across information on the Fort Hood shooting while studying the ballistics of the shooting. The FN 57X28mm What is FN 5.7X28mm? This is a round specifically designed for a class of weapons called PDWs– personal defense weapons. It’s intended for supporting troops to replace their pistols with something half the size of an M16 but with enough capacity and punch to defeat a helmet or soft body armor, and it’s a significant step up from a pistol or …


Letter Re: Buying Krugerrands

Hugh, With regard to purchasing Krugerrands as opposed to American Gold Eagle (AGE) coins or Canadian Maple Leaf (CML) coins results in some states such as mine (in the American Redoubt, thank God) not charging sales tax on collector coins, but they do on bullion. Since Krugerrands do not bear a (symbolic) monetary denomination (like AGEs and CMLs do), and only have a gold weight and fineness, they are taxed as bullion, which usually drives their cost above the others when tax is taken into account. – KW