Year: 2021

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — June 19, 2021

June 19, 1834 was the birthday of Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon, who died 31 January 1892. He was a British Particular Baptist preacher. — Today’s feature review article was too short to be included in the judging for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Round 95 of the contest ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.  Thanks! – JWR


One Year Review: Blackhawk Trident Boots, by Desert Al

Back in January of 2020, SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor  Pat Cascio reviewed the Blackhawk 6-inch Trident Ultralite Boots, and caught my attention. I am wary of buying gear online without physically holding something in my hands and trying it on. But I have used many Blackhawk products over the last 10 years and have been pleased with the price point and quality of their items. I had my boots picked out waiting in my shopping cart on Blackhawk’s website for several months until they went on sale for Father’s day in June of 2020 and I purchased them for right …


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.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in …



Preparedness Notes for Friday — June 18, 2021

June 18th is the birthday of Pastor Douglas Wilson. Born in 1953, he is the pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. Wilson is a prodigious author of books and articles on Reformed theology. — Please take note that we are running short of articles to post for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. So, if you have an article that you’ve drafted but haven’t completed, then please finish it up, and e-mail it to us. That will put you in the running for the thousands of dollars with of prizes that will be awarded in the first week of August. …


How Amazon Destroyed American Book Publishing

Most SurvivalBlog readers are aware that I’ve been an outspoken critic of Amazon.com’s business practices, their leftist agenda, and their blatant censorship. I even went so far as to very publicly resign from the Amazon Associates program. I did so on principle, knowing that it would cost me nearly $30,000 per year in sales commissions. But I didn’t hesitate, because I knew that it was the right thing to do. In this article, I will lay out some of the ways that Amazon has destroyed American book publishing, in their quest for monopolistic dominance. The Flood of Schlock Books To …


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 America’s aging cars and trucks. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Gold and silver both dipped on Wednesday and Thursday (June 16-17, 2021) as traders responded to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks. Gold’s 4% dip marks a good buying opportunity.  In percentage terms, silver has dipped more than …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 17, 2021

Survivalist author Dean Ing (author of the nuclear war survival novel Pulling Through) was born June 17, 1931, and passed away on July 21, 2020. His best-known novel, The Ransom of Black Stealth One (1989), was a New York Times bestseller. He was a former member of the Citizens’ Advisory Council on National Space Policy. He wrote more than 30 novels, and co-authored novels with his friends Jerry Pournelle, S. M. Stirling, and Leik Myrabo. He also wrote articles for Mel Tappan’s P.S. Letter. This is also the birthday of musician Red Foley (born, 1910, died September 19, 1968). His …


Overcoming the American Era of Self-Loathing

There is a disturbing trend that I’ve seen in contemporary American culture: Self-loathing. People young and old are being indoctrinated to hate the things that made America exceptional: Capitalism, hard work, entrepreneurship, our Founding Fathers, farming, ranching, and wholesome family relationships. Our children are even being taught to hate the color of their own skin. Some key examples are the “Systemic Racism” mantra and the now pervasive “Critical Race Theory” curricula. This trend has been promulgated by both academia and the mass media.  Ironically, the same liberals who laudably preached “treat everyone equally” are now preaching that people should be …


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 some newly-developed camouflage-breaking software. The Advent of Camouflage-Breaking Software Let’s begin with this from SurvivalBlog reader C.B.: ‘Camouflage breakers’ can find a target in less than a second. Here is …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 16, 2021

On June 16, 1980 the movie The Blues Brothers debuted in Chicago. It was very successful in its theatrical release, and has had a cult-like following as a home video. — An Urgent Request:  The nomination of David Chipman, the proposed Director of the ATF will be coming up for a vote tomorrow morning (June 17, 2021), before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee is expected to vote in favor of his nomination along party lines. PLEASE contact both of your state’s U.S. Senators TODAY, and insist that they vote against confirming this anti-gun zealot.  And as long as you …


Timekeeping When the Grid is Down, by The Novice

When the grid goes down, some means of keeping time may be helpful. This is true not only in relation to practical details like communications schedules or food preparation. Timekeeping also contributes to emotional well-being by helping to maintain orientation in the midst of a confusing situation. This emotional benefit is so significant that interrogators often try to deprive their subjects of this benefit by restricting their access to timekeeping devices and cues. With that in mind, I would like to talk about some non-electrical timekeeping devices that have been helpful to me, and that are ready for my use …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

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. — Reader J.M.D. wrote to mention: “Baofeng has come out with the GT-5R, a US-legal version of the venerable UV-5R. Transmission is limited to 144-148MHz & 420-450MHz (Ham 2m & 70cm bands), so no more FRS/GMRS/MURS/Marine transmissions like the original UV-5R and its variants. They claim all of the original UV-5R accessories will work with it Of course, the original …