Magazine Ban Victory for Californians — Stock Up!

UPDATE — April 4th: Comrade Becarra got a stay issued, that goes into effect at 5 PM Pacific Time on April 5th.  See my April 5th blog post about this. — There was some great news late last week, when we heard that California’s onerous 11+ round magazine ban was overturned by a Federal judge. The California law had been in effect since January 1, 2000. Finally, a magazine ban victory! The 86-page Duncan v. Becerra court ruling itself is worth reading, since it includes a lot of historical and legislative background. Note: I am not a licensed attorney, so …




JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on American-made gardening tools. (See the Gear & Grub section.) Books: Several readers have recommended this new book by Ben Shapiro: The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great. o  o  o A friend suggested this new release by conservative talk radio host Mark Levin: Unfreedom of the Press. o  o  o And speaking of recent releases, there is also this from noted political analyst and commentator David Horowitz: DARK AGENDA: The …




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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the economic storm clouds on the horizon. Precious Metals: Gold Prices Struggle To Hold $1,300 As U.S. ISM Manufacturing Rises In March o  o  o And for those in the chartist camp: Gold Cycles Down Into Late-Spring, Up Into Summer Economy & Finance: Erik …







Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 2, 2019

This is the birthday of Émile François Zola, a novelist and essayist. He is most often remembered as the author of “J’accuse” (I Accuse!), his lengthy open letter to president Félix Faure, which accused the French government of antisemitism. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the first entry for Round 82 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three …




Control Your Type 2 Diabetes or Die in TEOTWAWKI, by Scott M.

I am a family physician and I have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is where you initially have enough insulin produced by your body but are resistant to the insulin, i.e.:  you don’t have enough receptors for the insulin to plug into to act on the sugar/carbohydrates you ingest. As time goes on if you don’t manage your diabetes your body will stop producing insulin and you will need to be on insulin shots for the rest of your life. Type 1 diabetes is where you don’t produce any or very limited insulin and have to be on insulin for your lifetime. …




SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. Today, I’d like to mention camper conversion and rental companies in the American Redoubt. Conversions of Sprinter vans are very popular. And some folks are even converting cargo trailers into either overt or covert “stealth” campers. Both have had explosions of popularity in recent years. Some folks even live in them full time, as mobile tiny houses. The featured van photo is courtesy …




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”.  Today, we focus on the EU’s Controversial Copyright Reform. Your Car and Phone are Selling Your Data James C. sent us a link to this 9-minute video: Your Car is Selling Your Data. And speaking for data, check out this piece at CNBC: Stores are starting to track your every move. Bottom line: Either drive an older car or disable your car’s satellite and cellular connectivity. And if you must have a …







Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 1, 2019

April 1st, 1886 was the birthday of Arthur W. Pink, who died 15 July 1952 and was an English Christian evangelist and excellent Reformed Biblical scholar. It was his meticulously referenced arguments in his book, The Sovereignty of God, that first convinced me of the truth of the doctrine of Election. April 1st is also both April Fool’s Day and (unofficially) Molly Ivins Day. The latter refers to this key verse: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1 KJV) — Today we are announcing the winners of Round 81 of our writing contest. And …




Writing Contest Results and a New Prize

We just completed the judging for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest, and have a list of the winners. But first, before we list the winning articles, I have a special announcement: A New Prize! Starting today, with the advent of Round 82, et sequentia for just the next 10 rounds of the contest (that is, for the next 20 months) we’ve added a new prize of considerable value. A SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous is donating All-Inclusive Diamond Lifetime Memberships to the Front Sight firearms training school in Nevada. Members at the Diamond level are …




S&W M&P 9mm Compact, by Pat Cascio

Back in the day, I used to be a huge fan of S&W firearms. It was usually my preferred choice in a handgun. However, over the years, some of S&W politics turned me off, as well as a few times I encountered poor customer service. S&W is less political these days, and their  customer service is said to be better. Today, we’re checking out the M&P 9mm Compact semi-auto, and it’s a real dandy for concealed carry. I’m not really bashing S&W these days. Far from it – the old guard at S&W made some bad business decisions some years …




Recipe of the Week: Enola Gay’s Beef Cabbage Soup

This recipe first appeared in Enola Gay’s book: The Prepared Family Cookbook. By the way, we highly recommend both Enola Gay’s Paratus Familia blog and all of her books. Ingredients 1 Pound Ground Beef (or venison, rabbit, etc.) 1/2 Head of Cabbage, shredded 2 Ribs of Celery, sliced (or celerac) 1 Small Bell Pepper, cut into small pieces (or dried peppers) 1 Medium Diced Onion (or dried onions) 2 Cups Cooked Kidney Beans (or (1) 16oz. can) 2 Cups Diced Canned Tomatoes (or fresh) 4 Cups of Water 2 T Beef Bouillon (or pwd soup base) 1/4 tsp Garlic powder (or …




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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we focus on housing bubbles. Precious Metals: We’ll start today with this from Frank Holmes: Gold Mining Stocks Are Surging On Global Economic Fears o  o  o Are We Running Out Of Gold? o  o  o And for the chartist believers, there is this from Clive Maund: …