Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 24, 2022

On August 24th, 410, Rome was overrun by the Visigoths in an event that symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This is a moment in history that we would do well to remember. An empire that ruled the known world was corrupted from the inside to the point that they could not defend themselves from a much weaker enemy. — We are seeking entries for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. If you’ve been working on an article, please finish it, and send it in. Round 102 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and …




A Retreat Locale Selection Criteria Update

When I launched SurvivalBlog in 2005, I summarized my criteria for selecting retreat locales in a series of articles. Soon after, I evaluated 19 western states, for their retreat potential. I later put that data in a SurvivalBlog static page: Recommended Retreat Areas. This article serves as a 2022 update to that page. Some Things Don’t Change A lot has changed in the intervening 17 years, but some ground truths and some key trends haven’t changed at all: The tendencies of governments haven’t changed. They’ve only grown a bit bolder and their tools for surveillance of the citizenry have become …




SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — First up, there is this Fox News article about a Bear Home Invasion, forwarded to us by reader C.B.: Colorado man shoots bear inside his home with his .40-caliber pistol. JWR’s Comment: Note that he emptied his pistol magazine — most likely 15 rounds — before the bear stopped. The Bidenistas tell us …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“He was, however, speaking to a representative of government, the police. And it is to government that one goes ‘for a redress of grievances,’ to use an almost forgotten phrase of the First Amendment. But it is said that the purpose was ‘to cause inconvenience and annoyance.’ Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? The constitutional theory is that we the people are the sovereigns, the state and federal officials only our agents. We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. …