This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
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Our own Pat Cascio forwarded this disturbing news: It Begins: Fully Vaccinated People in Oregon Must Show Proof of Vaccination Status in Order to Enter Businesses Without a Mask [1].
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Reader “Bear” wrote:
“I liked a recent article by [2]Angelo Codevilla [2]. Anyone who quotes Alice’s Restaurant gets bonus points from me, but the real idea was about subverting the Constitution to persecute political prisoners. Here’s a quote from the conclusion:
The oligarchs are not fooling around. Appealing to the Constitution can only increase their determination to bury its remnants under the administrative powers it creates or enhances. This is a regime alien and inimical to ours.
That is good as well as bad news. The good aspect of it is that we who swear to uphold the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic owe no allegiance whatever to the oligarchy that now runs this country. Nor can we persuade them about right and wrong. If we are to avoid becoming the oligarchy’s mere subjects we can and must treat them as the enemies they are: deny their legitimacy, and rebuild the republic amongst those of us who love it.
I also liked t
his article about the aftereffects of intensive propaganda [3], sad though it is. Makes me so,
so glad that we homeschool, work from home, don’t have a television, and don’t let our cubs on social media. Fear is a weapon of mass destruction. As far as I am concerned, any human should be free to put whatever they want on their faces, or not to, but surely it isn’t “freedom” if they’re terrified into it.”
Reader Vicki S. wrote to ask:
“As a fairly new shooter, I need advice on a good way to store ammo.”
JWR’s Reply:
Standard U.S. military surplus green O.D. cans have served me well for 55+ years. If you can’t find those, then look for large used Tupperware or similar airtight containers at yards sales and thrift stores. Regardless of your choice of containers: If you live in a humid climate, then throw in a small packet of silica gel desiccant before sealing each container.
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It just occurred to me that the ATF’s proposed plan to declare AR-15 Upper Receivers as separate “firearms” (requiring serialization and Form 4473 paperwork) will have an unintended consequence: It will effectively double the number of privately-owned ARs in the country from around 9 million to around 18 million. This will make them even more indisputably “in common use”, and thus make it far less likely for the courts to assent to any legislated bans. – JWR
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American ex-pat and SurvivalBlog reader Yorrie in Jerusalem sent this:
“Earlier today a cease fire (hunda in Arabic means temporary cessation of combat so Islamic forces may rebuild) was declared between Israel and Hamas/Islamic Jihad. Many Israelis see this as temporary respite after another round of “mowing the grass or weeds in Gaza.”
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and their supporters are claiming victory because they achieved causing terror, PTSD, and death via multiple missile strikes on Tel Aviv, other civilian areas and because the Leftist-biased media lapped up their chronic tactical blame the Jews for dead children claims. The Palestine Red Crescent is controlled by Hamas, there is no independent verification, and no definition of children. Perhaps it includes jihadists who aren’t married yet? Note Al-Jazeera and most media will never film or show wounded Islamic fighters entering emergency rooms or in ambulances. What a mindset! Another reason, this one politically valid, is that Hamas is more popular among Fraudistinians than the Palestine Authority, which cancelled elections because they knew they would lose them. Is victory using missiles and Gaza as pawns to deplete Iron Dome anti-missile missiles?
Israel estimates at least 190 dead terrorists, including several commanders. Over 60 miles of terror tunnels damaged or destroyed, and weapons factories and Hamas facilities destroyed, including dual purpose buildings (shields). That’s the holes in the middle of streets; the penetrating bombs could have been targeted thru buildings but mostly weren’t.
The next phases will be Fraudistinia claims about occupation, apartheid, and displacement. The Left loves these words. How can Israel, reborn after Exile occupy its eternal Biblical homeland? Who is the rightful owner? What are the basis for claims over the only New Jersey sized area in the vast Middle East and North Africa not under Islamic control? Can Israel occupy where the Biblical Temples stood or is the territory insufficiently liberated?
Whatever Israel does will never be enough. Knock on the roof tactic empty missiles, leaflet drops, phone calls for civilians to evacuate are not sufficient for Israel’s critics. At the same time pogroms (riots and displacements of Jews from their properties and homes), attacks on Jews and pro-Israel ciitizens in the West are mostly covered up by the big media and not considered anti-Semitism by the Left. Religious Zionist Rabbis feel Israel needs to demonstrate that it will never surrender on legitimate land claims and the resettlement of Jews in Judea. Then the Islamists will begin to understand that Israel is not a temporary setback, like 70 years of the USSR was before it collapsed.
Stay tuned. I think Hamas wanted to deplete the Iron dome interceptor system. They did that. However, if Israel runs low on missiles, the IDF is unlikely to fight with one hand tied behind its back if you know what I mean. And might decide to go after Iran’s nuclear capabilities and oil-based economy.”
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SurvivalBlog’s Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson noted this news, over at American Thinker: Watch a string of Venezuela’s power stations explode through the night [4]. Mike’s Comment: “This could easily come to cities here soon.”
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Reader M.G. wrote:
“Re: map of sanctuary counties and states [5]
Now that the collapse of the US is well underway, have you asked, ‘What might the former US look like after collapse’? This map might give some insight.
Think new independent States (yes, Uppercase ‘S’ again). Think new Articles of Confederation. Of course, another possibility is New China.
Forget thinking in terms of existing state (lower case ‘s’) and US borders. For those living in the vast Non-2nd Amendment sanctuaries, forget thinking and learn Mandarin.”
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Steve C. sent this news item: Wild boars corner woman in Rome supermarket car park and steal her groceries [6].
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S.J. wrote:
“Just wanted to pass along a few items for you and your readers:
Firstly, I got a new chain for my chainsaw the other day, thinking I really ought to have a spare on hand…in so doing I got to thinking and realized I had been running the same chain on that saw for about 6 years or so. Even with sharpening and taking down the rakers, cutting firewood had become an unpleasant chore. With the new chain on, suddenly it is like a hot knife through butter, and cutting wood has gone from a chore, to a treat. Now I still have the old chain as a spare, the new chain on the saw, and a new-new chain hanging on a nail in the shop for just-in-case. Now just need to grab an extra spark plug or two to stick on the shelf for come what may.
Second, I wonder if any of the more skilled amateur radio operators out there can help me; I have my tech license, but there is only so much I can do in HF as a tech…10 meters is about it unless I go to CW. Is there a tool, app, program, or device that will listen to the dots and dashes of Morse code and transcribe them for me to read? And preferably take what I type in and translate that into Morse code for transmission? Seems like a simple enough concept, but I haven’t been able to find any such thing myself. I know, I know, the better answer is to just upgrade to General and/or learn CW, but in the mean time, a little help?
Finally, I came across a movie some of your readers may enjoy, starring Viggo Mortenson, called Captain Fantastic. Silly name, not at all relevant to the plot, but about a family that lives off grid, homeschools their kids with a high degree of physical fitness and academic rigor, and rejects the consumeristic nature of American culture. Naturally, they face certain challenges as events force a degree of re-integration after years living apart from mainstream society. Anyway, my family enjoyed it, but be warned it does not treat sympathetically certain aspects of Christian, suburban, consumerist, pop-culture Americana. I don’t mind a little challenge to my perspective from time to time, and found the movie stimulating and entertaining, and thought it would appeal to some of your readers.”
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Reader Karen B. mentioned: “The upcoming Rogue Food Conference [7] in Tennessee looks interesting.”
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Redclay wrote:
“The blogs I read that appeal to me most are the boots-on-the-ground, sitreps from different areas of the US and other countries. Especially appealing are those preppers with some ‘seasoning’ to them, my boomer generation which I identify with. Nothing wrong with younger, sometimes profane ex-military or middle age blogs with growing families, but I need to see how us older folks are getting by and providing for the next generation.
One small blog I follow in NC is The Freeholder blog in west-central NC by a retired IT guy, plenty of ailments and a wife ready to retire from teaching. He is a ham, does RV camping with wife and grown kids, is a gun guy and conservative here in NC. His observations appeal to me and give a comparison to what I am seeing in another area of our state. The following are links two recent blogposts from him to give you a flavor of what I see as informative, well-written and not filled with profanity unwarranted. No one much reads him, but he doesn’t seem to care – he is doing this for his own sanity, methinks – and I find I have much in common with The Freeholder.
I [wish to] give this fellow a bit of a hat tip and might use him as another source of sitreps from the eastern seaboard
of the US from time to time. There are plenty of us boomers out there who can identify with his ills and aches as well as his observations.”
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H.L. sent us this: Forests the size of France have regrown around the world since 2000, storing the equivalent of 5.9billion tonnes of carbon dioxide – more than the annual emissions of the US, promising study reveals [10].
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Reader A.L. wrote to mention:
“I wanted to share what I am seeing, locally. Six months to a year ago, I was hatching chickens and raising them to laying age and selling them for $35 each. Last week, someone gave me 40 laying hens that had just started laying. I didn’t want most of them, since I have way too many of my own. I have been killing chickens for weeks now. So I tried to sell them for $15 [each]. I managed to sell five of them, and then I begged someone to take them, and she did. No one wants chickens.”
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Two interview videos suggested by Avalanche Lily:
Covid Shots Have No Off Button. They Keep Killing and Killing and Killing. [11]
and,
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And lastly, this sign of a trend: Large insurance company paid $40M in ransom after March cyberattack [13]. (A h hat tip to H.L. frorthe link.)
Please Send Us Your Snippets!
Please send your snippet items for potential posting to JWR [14]. or AVL [14]. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact [15] form.