Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 13, 2020

On March 13, 1933, banks in the U.S. started to re-open, following a week-long “bank holiday” declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. — Today is the birthday of the astronomer Percival Lowell, in 1855. His flawed “Canals of Mars” theories persisted from 1895 to 1909. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of …




The Ultimate Prepper Vehicle, by Spotlight

I will admit that the title that I chose for this article was mostly tongue-in-cheek. There is obviously, no ultimate prepper vehicle. What works for me may not work for you. However, I do want to take the opportunity to make the case for what I think is an excellent prepper vehicle: the minivan. Yes, the lowly, oft-mocked minivan. The “Loser Cruiser” as one of my buddies put it when I drove up one day. As I sensed he was attacking my manhood I responded that if he was getting his manhood from the car he drove, he had much …




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. Crash Alert — It Will Get Worse Today, we look at the effects of both the new oil price war and the Wuhan coronavirus on global finance and equities markets.  I’m writing this column on Thursday evening, near the end of two of the most turblulent weeks in U.S. market history. In has …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The war on drugs has turned into a war on civil liberties The reason is simple. The war is a war on people suspected of using, or dealing in, or otherwise being involved in drugs. But the drug industry survives because tens of millions of people engage in voluntary transactions, which they try to keep secret. Hence law enforcement must attempt to penetrate the private lives of millions of suspects, which could be almost anyone.” – J. Orlin Grabbe