SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on conifer encroachment.   (See the Montana section.) Region-Wide Inland Northwest Trends, Fall 2019 (Gallery). Far from being just “hicks, out in the sticks”, many builders in the American Redoubt are constructing and final finishing some very beautiful homes. o o o In Redoubt, …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Like the larger context of suburbia, the giant consolidated schools seemed like a good idea at the time. The idea was to save administrative costs throughout a given district or region and the unanticipated consequence was to make education a loathsome and pointless experience for the students. The public schools are well on their way to just collapsing under the weight of their outlandish costs, especially their pension obligations, and the onerous school bus fleets. Similarly, the colleges that have absorbed the flow of public school graduates — many of them ill-prepared for higher ed — using the loan racket …




Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 4, 2019

November 4th is the birthday of Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone. He was born in 1916 in Buffalo, New York. — On this day in 1979, student followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini sent shock waves across America when they stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The radical Islamic fundamentalists took 90 hostages. The students were enraged that the deposed Shah had been allowed to enter the U.S. to seek medical attention. Just a few days later, the provincial leader of Iran resigned and the Ayatollah Khomeini took full control of the country. Two weeks later, all non-U.S personnel as …




LA Police Gear: LNT Pack and Core Boots, by Pat Cascio

Introductory Disclaimer: Los Angeles Police Gear (LAPG), is a fairly new advertiser to SurvivalBlog.com – however, I am an independent contractor, I do not work for ether LAPG or SurvivalBlog.com – I have no vested interest in either of these companies. LAPG contacted me and asked if they could send me some samples of their products to test. What you will read are my independent findings, and mine alone. — Unknown to LAPG is the fact that I have been a customer of theirs for many years. This dates from when I did police work, and had my own private …




Recipe of the Week: Jim’s Asian Broccoli Beef

Jim X. kindly sent us his Asian Broccoli Beef recipe. Ingredients 1 pound of trimmed beef steak, sliced very thin across the grain.  (Note: Nearly any beef cut will do–even inexpensive flank steak, as long as it is thinly-sliced.) 1 pound of raw broccoli crowns 1/2 cup of soy sauce 1/4 cup of cornstarch 1 to 2 cloves of minced garlic (to suit your taste) 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 2 to 3 tablespoons of cooking sherry (depending on taste) 2 to tablespoons light brown sugar (depending on taste) 3 tablespoons of peanut oil or olive oil 1/4 cup of …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the export side of the Swiss watch market. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Mike Gleason: Fed’s Own Forecasts Again Dead Wrong as QE4 Accelerates o  o  o Why are Gold and Bonds rising together? Economy & Finance: The Hill reports: US debt surpasses $23 trillion for first …







Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 3, 2019

On November 3, 1903, Walker Evans, the American photographer best known for his portrayal of America during the Great Depression, was born. — I’m still running short of articles to fill out the current round of the SurvivalBlog nonfiction writing contest. Please write an article at least 1,500 words long, and send it in. The prize packages for the top three judged articles are amazing! There are more than $12,000 worth of prizes.




Teaching Preparedness To Family, by Old Bobbert – Part 2

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Step #4 – Warnings About In-House People Problems We specifically included the following blog article for its high self discipline / self management value. This was a last minute find equal to being a “ Golden Nugget “ for our family and for me personally. This is a highly protective tool! Prepper Complacency, by Wood Tamer (May 3, 2019) Another excellent tool we included from the archives was the following: Five Common Mistakes New Preppers Make and How to Avoid Them- Parts 1 & 2  (June 1, 2016) Failure to Properly Assess …




The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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 yet another prediction of a possible second civil war. Rep. Gohmert Predicts Second Civil War Linked over at the great Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Rep. Louis Gohmert: Impeachment ‘Coup’ Will ‘Push …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 2, 2019

On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour submitted a declaration of intent to establish a Jewish homeland known as the Balfour Declaration. While Arab hostilities and the outbreak of World War II delayed the desired outcome, the Nation of Israel was eventually re-established in 1948. — Today we present Part 1 of an article by regular contributor “Old Bobbert.”  Because this article primarily references other already published articles, it is not eligible in the Writing Contest judging.




Teaching Preparedness To Family, by Old Bobbert – Part 1

Just a few months ago our family in the Midwest was pummeled by terrible storms and flooding. I knew we had to help them to cope with the dangerous weather events in their neighborhoods. So I put together a “Family Prepper Package“ of information. Here was my process: Step #1 Create a Written PLan We made a copy of the plan a part of the presentation binder contents for each household in our extended family. Our plan evolved loosely into a seven part program based on current interests, current economics, infrastructure lack of maintenance, and the real probability of a …




Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so …