SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at a new weapon in the war on Yellow Star Thistle. The photo above shows a field of mustard, and a patch of yellow star thistle.
Update: The War on Yellow Star Thistle
Reader S.B. spotted this: Federal Government Approves Release Of Non-Native Weevil In California To Combat Invasive Thistle. (Also to be used in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and possibly Nevada.)
Special Sale on Basics of Resistance Book
Claire Wolfe posted: “Sunday, September 22 at 8:00 a.m. (presumably PDT), the Kindle edition of Basics of Resistance will be on sale for $0.99. Every 50 hours the price will increase until it’s back up to its normal $3.99 after a week.” This great book was co-authored by Kit Perez. Get a copy!
Booker’s Bill Would Require Gun Owners to Get Federal License
Reader DSV sent this: New Bill Would Require Gun Owners to get 5 Year Federal License. The article begins:
“‘If you need a license to drive a car, you should need a license to buy and possess a gun,’ said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a Presidential candidate, and the bill’s author.
The measure, dubbed the Federal Firearm Licensing Act, would require individuals who want to buy or receive a firearm to first get vetted by and be issued a license from the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition to an extensive background check, applicants would have to complete firearms training “which must include a written test and hands-on training to ensure safe use and accuracy,” and submit fingerprints. Further, the licensee would have to report to DOJ the make, model, and the serial number of the gun being transferred.
The license would have to be renewed every five years, to include refresher training and a subsequent background check. No license, no guns.”
Climate Change: Doomsdays That Didn’t Happen
Linked over at Whatfinger.com: Doomsdays that didn’t happen: Think tank compiles decades’ worth of dire climate predictions. (Thanks to C.B. for the link.)
Why Loitering Munitions Are the Newest and Deadliest Threat
Reader G.P. sent this: Why Loitering Munitions Are the Newest and Deadliest Threat. Here is how the article begins:
“In August 2018, suicide attack drones grabbed headlines when used in an assassination attempt against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Similar drones were used by ISIS in Iraq and Syria to attack coalition and regime forces. While some media outlets have suggested that ISIS has pioneered the use of the “suicide drone,” regular militaries have been using suicide drones for nearly three decades under a different name: Loitering Munitions.
While the loitering munitions fielded by regular militaries are significantly more advanced than the modified drones used by ISIS, the basic concept is the same. An explosive warhead on a flying unmanned air vehicle (UAV) is flown into a target to deliver precision strike effects.
By most accounts, Israel pioneered the development of loitering munitions in the late 1980s or early 1990s as an anti-radar solution. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was always a pioneer in UAV usage—they reduced casualties and political risk, key considerations with a conscripted force.
The IDF realized the potential of UAVs in the anti-radar role following its experience during the 1982 Lebanon War. Israeli UAVs were used for reconnaissance and as decoys to destroy multiple Syrian Surface to Air Missile (SAM) sites in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, in what was called Operation Drugstore.”
New Searchable Website for Constitution Annotated
Another from G.P.: New searchable website for Constitution Annotated.
Can You Get Cancer From Tap Water?
Reader DSV flagged this piece in USAToday: Can you get cancer from tap water? New study says even ‘safe’ drinking water poses risk.
—
You can send your news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) Thanks!
Re: License Required
Any true American needs no licence to do nothing, no paper work, no credentials, but their accomplishments to qualify themselves in the eyes of their peers, as competent in any endeavor. It is time for the pendulum to swing the other way, and with good force.
I concur! (Wish there was a thumbs up/like tab 😉 )
Which includes it´s own dangers, if their Peers deny them their Rights for their own unjust reasons, prejudices and unjust laws.
OTOH there are People i wouldn´t want to be armed for character, personality or skill.
Re: License Required
Government always proves to be the greatest tyrant. How soon we forget history.
That doesn´t Change anything for the People whose Rights are taken by “their peers”, who ´re threatened and attacked by persons of bad character or endangered through lack of skill or are personally unable.
I see your point. Sadly in this modern day, most persons, here and abroad, have lost touch with what America once represented. The American ideas of freedom is tempered and protected with liberties defined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights, that is now ignored.
The unspoken assumption is that as a Christian nation, the people are first subject and obey the laws of God, and therefore the laws of man could be limited, and our liberties guaranteed. Sadly we are no longer a Christian nation that is inherently moral. In fact our society is ruled more by ‘situational ethics’, and not even by any morality of a secular, or a religious origin. This nation is now Godless, and depraved.
For most of us, the reason we are here at SurvivalBlog.com is because we are now threatened by an out of control government, that steals our wealth and God given rights.
Good God Mr. Rabbit I hope you are right….. I know in my heart the just and righteous cause, my fear is the other side feels the same way. How can one find a middle ground? You can’t, one side must vanquish the other, its the only way, coexistence will not work in this case. Prepare your heart and mind for the times that are coming, not how you would wish them to be.
Booker’s Bill Would Require Gun Owners to Get Federal License
Way to create a booming black market in guns, Mr. Booker. You’re truly a savant.
Not that this black market doesn’t already exist, but continued gun law stupidity will just make this market more and more profitable. So in reality these laws will add to the problem of unstable people being able to get guns rather than solve the problem.
I can literally go out on the streets where I live and buy any type of gun I want, with no background check or training or government anything. This black market continues to grow with the new feverish gun grab mentality.
People like Booker, are going to create the next new war on _______ put your vice of choice here. Like the great drug war which has been lost and now being reversed to making drugs legal for personal use…..what a joke.
Unfortunately, everyone in office, in all offices, from the federal level to your local dog catcher are mouth breathers. They literally couldn’t think their way out of a wet paper bag that is missing 3 sides. They are so busy trying to jump on the bandwagon of the next trending tweet, that they can’t see the trees for the forest.
Pray for America. Stockpile supplies, practice your skills, be ready to fight.
Re. Loitering Munitions
UAVs will be as great a game-changer as nuclear bombs. This article nailed the real reason why: “They reduce casualties and political risk”; the last remaining impediments to perpetual war.
Use of these UAVs will be of no consequence to the lives of Americans. Well, that is until they are unleased above U.S. soil. Got a problem with that? Go to Room 101.
There are two types of UAVs: Guided and unguided. Guided requires a comms link back to the pilot — and that link can be traced and/or jammed by a peer competitor.
Unguided — i.e, unguided by a human pilot and instead guided by GPS — is the perfect suicide bomber. Esp if stealth designed and carrying a bio-weapon.
The amusing thing about our News Corporations is what they choose to NOT talk about :
a) The consequences of Bill Clinton the Moron losing that stealth fighter in the Balkans in the 1990s and letting the wreckage be carried off because no provision had been made to bomb and destroy it.
b) The consequences of Barack Obama do nothing as North Korean conducted nuclear tests of increasing size for 8 years — leaving Trump confronted with a Korean test of 300-400 kiloton. Possible fusion level which is bad news because 300 kt fusion can be ramped up to 100 megatons by stacking more fuel on top.
Another panic article, this time about tap water. It seems to repeat the one molecule causes cancer myth. If you are healthy your immune system will likely take care of it (which means not eating what the Government tells you, but what Grandma and Grandpa ate and lived long, healthy lives with far more junk in their enviroment, where did they get their water? What was in the well?). The only thing that has changed is we can detect 1 part per trillion now.
Interesting that being exposed directly to RoundUp and other pesticides at high levels is less worrysome than marginally detectable levels in tap water.
As to the Weevil, well the evil weevil is likely to eat and destroy native plants and leave the thistle alone. That is what usually happens.
Unsafe tap water brought to you by your friends at unsafe bottled water(we just put tap water into bottles and charge a lot more). Maybe a ad for Berkey.
According to the Declaration of Independence, we “are endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable rights.” The right to bear arms, which is to say, self-defense, is not granted by the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution, it is one that pre-exists the Constitution. By virtue of the 2nd Amendment, it “shall not be infringed.”
If we are born with the right to self-defense, a license is unneeded. Licenses apply only to privileges.
Yes!
Re. New Website for Constitution
Let me get this straight. Our Founders penned an 8-page U.S. Constitution which could be read and clearly understood by virtually every American. Yet today Congress needs 3,000 pages to help Americans understand how they destroyed it. Bless their little hearts.
What Americans should be reading is only 3 pages long. It is the Declaration of Independence.
A License to own a fire arm is an example of perfect theft and corruption by a government.
Example: The constitution provides an amendment ( 2 nd) for an individual right, then the government passes a law restricting/removing that individual right unless/until the individual purchases/pays for a license to exercise that constitutional right.
As a gun owner and second amendment advocate I admit that I have bended with some gun control measures even though they are illegal and do not work. The next new law will be closing the “gun show loophole”. At that point a “line in the sand” should be drawn by THE PEOPLE against any further gun control. Unfortunately there may not be enough willing citizenry to push back on this issue.
In the mean time, our best chance is to educate the people with REAL pro-gun arguments none of which you hear through the more conservative media.
Hardly ever does any media state that the Second Amendment is the right to keep and bear ARMS (not muskets); seldom do we hear of statistics and real life cases of firearms protecting human life; and never do we hear that a MILITIA may necessary (yes, especially in this world where we are so outnumbered) at a time of need and then would become WELL REGULATED.
The point of all this is that it is up to gun owners to educate others in an effort to turn this ship around. Otherwise we will either submit to authority or educate them in another way.
Yamamoto: ‘You cannot invade America. There will be a rifle behind every blade of grass’
PS Subversion is one of the tools in the Special Forces toolbox. Along with espionage and propaganda. The French Resistance didn’t send lukewarm Letters of protest to the Editors of the Nazi newspapers.
Cory Booker has just pre violated the oath of office for the president of the United States to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, thus making him ineligible to hold said office, This is also apparent for most of the democratic candidates with their stances against the 2nd amendment as well as the socialist promoters violation of our Right to Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness. Their support for anti hate speech laws is a direct violation of the First amendment, The list goes on with their disqualification for holding any public office; as almost all elected offices require recognition of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. Remember this when you vote or are talking to others.
WANT A GREAT AND EFFECTIVE WATER FILTER? GET A BERKEY, YOU WILL NOT BE DISPPOINTED. WE HAVE BEEN USING THEM FOR SEVER YEARS AND THE WATER TESTS WAY BELOW ALLOWABLE NUMBERS SET BY THE GOOBERMINT.
The article on using weevils is very interesting and there is no doubt that eliminating star thistle is a great idea but if they attack the artichoke plant, (a type of thistle) I will personally lead the country to abolish the EPA. I had some back hoe work done and the next year I suddenly had a star thistle invasion, it is hard to get rid of even if only a few plants. If you see it, kill it.
Once back in the 90’s, I had 12 dump truck loads of free soil brought in. What I didn’t expect to get was the free horsetail that grew from it. Had children and didn’t want to use chemicals, so I poured vinegar on each plant. A one time application completely eradicated them. While I did not have star thistle, maybe vinegar is worth a try for small problem areas.
Interestingly, I don’t need a license to drive or own a car. Full stop. Period.
My ranch truck doesn’t need a license plate, tags, insurance, etc.
and, the fed.gov has no idea how many trucks I own. (Hopefully)
This is such a great site with so many like minded people, it give me some semblance of hope for the future. All are correct on so many levels.
Bottom line is: We are the sovereigns, the gov and states are our agents. We do not need “permission” to follow our pursuit of happiness.
A good read by John Whitehead from The Rutherford Institute. Well worth your time. The day of reckoning is approaching.
“Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? The constitutional theory is that we the people are the sovereigns, the state and federal officials only our agents. We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and annoy, as we need not stay docile and quiet.”
– Justice William O. Douglas, dissenting, Colten v. Kentucky, 407 U.S. 104 (1972)
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/martial-law-masquerading-law-and-order-police-states-language-force
One of the commenters suggested Bookers federal gun license would just increase the already existant black market in firearms. It’s actually the point of further prohibitions. Each prohibition that has been enacted has resulted in continued death and distruction of otherwise innocent people. So let’s take a look at who benefits. Cui Bono!
Corey Booker benefits from a federal prohibition on firearms, as does many Senators and Representatives. There will be black marketeers bribing our politicians to keep firearms prohibited. Just as there are black marketeers bribing our politicians, in particular federal politicians, to keep drugs illegal. You would be very foolish to think that the various drug cartels don’t have lobbyists in DC bribing politicians to keep cannabis, and coca and opium from being legalized. Loose the prohibition, loose the profitability of the drug trade. Who benefits from the prohibition? Politicians, bureaucrats, the government sanctioned drug cartels (big pharma), the legal alcohol cartels (big alcohol, yes they have been lobbying to keep cannabis illegal), the legal protection racket of big law enforcement, all these benefit from keeping recreational drug use illegal. The foul stench of totalitarian socialists have their finger tipping the scales of government to promote an insane, immoral, unjust and unconstitutional war on guns. The same kind of totalitarian socialists have been promoting the insane, immoral, unjust, and unconstitutional war on drugs.
Who benefited from the insane, immoral, and unjust (but, sadly, not unconstitutional) war on alcohol? Politicians, bureaucrats, organized crime (did I just repeat myself?), the progressive movement that started in the late 1800’s, and anyone else seeking power and authority over other humans. The very same people, totalitarian socialists, who have promoted every evil we have been subjected to. Oh, and don’t forget eugenics. These same people, progressive totalitarian socialists have been promoting eugenics for a century and a half. They have no respect for fundamental human rights. They have found no human right that they won’t violate through the use of force. They are slave mongers. The Democrat party of 1859 is the same Democrat party that exists in 2019,
160 years later and they are still the party of slavery. They have, however, expanded their horizons. Now they want to enslave all Americans, and with their neoconservative counterparts, too many Republicans, the enslavement of the entire world.
From Orwell’s “1984”, “Freedom is Slavery”. Of course it isn’t. However, socialism IS slavery, that’s from me.
OK, rant over. 😉
SOG,
That is a pretty good filter. One thing it doesn’t have are pressure gages on each filter jar, indicating which filter needs changing. When flow slows down, you have to guess, or replace all of them to restore flow. Water Pure Technologies makes similar filter architectures, but includes pressure gauges on each jar so selecting the stuffy filter cartridge is easy. Water Pure Technologies (https://www.waterpuretechnologies.com/collections/wholehousewaterfiltration/products/wholehousewaterfiltrationsystem manufactures under-sink and whole house systems, whose cartridges are 4 1/2″ x 20″ in size enabling change intervals to go to 250,000 gallons. The nano-filter (3rd stage) grabs 99.9999% of viruses….yet doesn’t restrict flow.
Either will go a good job providing practical volumes of safe water….have lots of spare filters and a reliable alt-energy system to support it. The flow rate on the larger filters is 20 gallons per minute. That means low resistance and long change out schedules.
Good to see people out there getting serious about water!
Thanks for that great tip. It is cheap and easy to add your own pressure gauges to each using a pvc, copper, or Pex manifold and common pressure gauges, about $10 each. These are awesome filters, but the price is higher since I got mine. These and other canister filters can also be used in a home made gravity fed system, but because pressure could be lacking, only a portion of their capacity will be used as they clog up. Of course one can create pressure by locating the water supply up high, or using an electric pump. A Shureflo 12vdc RV pump with a built in pressure switch would work.
HAHAHAHA NOT ONE MORE DAMN INCH, booker, not one more you POS!!!
We shot ourselves in the foot when we allowed ourselves to be licensed drivers. It starts with the person, then spread to the vehicle..
Same thing will happen with Guns.. It will start with the person, then spread the gun…Just the excuse they need.. They will get a little federal grant money to run some ” Safety ” campaign, just like enforcing the seat belt, distracted driving, speeding, studded tires, law. For a week or so, cops will canvass the chosen neighborhoods knocking on doors to find you in violation of some mundane stupid regulation. We will give up our rights to the 4th amendment, so they can make sure our gun safe has the required inspection sticker, or is in compliant with the laws. We will be required to open our homes for the ‘ ‘safety’ inspection or get fined, Loaded guns will be taken, gun ” privileges” forfeited. Much like submitting to a DUI check, you WILL be guilty if you don’t comply….. I can see the writing on the wall when Democrats again get in office.
The Germans flew unmanned explosive packed surplus bombers onto targets in World War 2. The United States used radio controlled planes loaded with explosives in the Korean War. Both instances predating Israel’s use in the 80’s or 90’s.
Just pointing out the obvious that many have mentioned above.
Since when do you need a license to exercise a right?
The driving comparison does not correlate. The constitution does not mention the right to drive.
Hi Travis,
I was emphasizing the effects of licensing, not that driving is a right. However, I will go as far as to make the claim that Americans Will give up their right to the 4th in an effort to comply with licensing. We are seeing the left willing to give up their 2nd, in the name of ‘ safety’.
Good to hear many of us talk the talk, Wonder how many will walk the walk….I just wonder what the straw that breaks the camels back will be? Or will we (as a society) be the frog in the slowly heating pot
Booker’s bill just goes to show Carlin was correct, we really don’t have any rights, or at least only those we are willing to enforce ourselves. A piece of paper with words written on it doesn’t stop violence, whether from the public enemy or the powers that be. Only a well armed, well trained force willing to take action can protect anyone’s rights. If they can do it to Japanese Americans in 1942, they can do it to any of us, anytime they want to. We gave up gun rights in 1934 and again in 1968, under the pretense that it was necessary to keep the public safe. How many times are we gonna give in to that excuse? I suppose right up to the point where we have no freedom left at all.
On gun licenses. A U.S. Supreme court ruling Murdock v. Pennsylvania 319 U.S. 105 (1943). No state shall convert a liberty/right into a privilege license it and charge a fee. I had looked up these cases 20 years ago and they were real hard to find on the Supreme court’s web site and still are now. Now I print everything. Also on page 10 of the 2008 Heller decision states ” In Muscarello v. United States, 524 U.S. 125 (1998), in the course of analyzing the meaning of “Carries a firearm” in a federal criminal statue, JUSTICE GINSBURG wrote that “[s]urely a most familiar meaning is as the Constitution’s Second Amendment . . . Indicate[s]: ‘wear, bear, or carry . . . upon the person or in the clothing or in a pocket, for the purpose . . . of being armed and ready for offensive or defensive action in a case of conflict with another person.'” Sounds like CCW permits are illegal.