Month: March 2023


The “American Redoubt”, the Dream of a Conservative Fortress, by Adrien Jaulmes

Editor’s Introductory Note: The following is a translation of a March 24, 2023 article in France’s oldest newspaper, Le Figaro. One of the newspaper’s American staffers interviewed me by telephone, in February, during his fact-finding tour of the region. Here is a link to that original piece, in French: Aux États-Unis, la «Redoute américaine», un rêve de forteresse conservatrice. (In the United States, the “American Redoubt”, a dream of a conservative fortress.) Most of the article was “réservé aux abonné”  — reserved for subscribers.The Le Figaro reporter, Adrien Jaulmes, kindly sent me the English version of the article. The reporter …


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. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look chronic inflation in the Euro Zone. (See the Inflation section.) Precious Metals: The charts prove it: The precious metals are looking quite bullish. Since November of 2022, spot gold has risen from around $1,650 per Troy ounce to more than $1,975 per Troy ounce. The gains in just the last few weeks have …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 30, 2023

On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and District of Columbia police officer Thomas K. Delahanty. Agent McCarthy took a bullet protecting Reagan. McCarthy was not wearing a bulletproof vest. He later became Chief of Police in Orland Park, Illinois. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at …


Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 3, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Resources and Recommendations Sorry, I don’t have a free full curriculum link for you. All new homeschooling parents look for it and I was no exception. Now, with a few years under my belt, I am suspicious of things claiming to be a complete curriculum let alone a free one. Every teacher supplements the curriculum and it’s a surprisingly fine line between supplementing and building. Your job is to keep your child challenged and working at their best. Too rigid a curriculum, or sticking too rigidly to one, will hamstring your child. …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, more about License Plate Surveillance. License Plate Surveillance, Courtesy of Your HOA SurvivalBlog’s Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: License Plate Surveillance, Courtesy of Your Homeowners Association. America …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 29, 2023

Today would have been the 104th birthday of William “Bill” Summers Anderson. He passed away on June 29, 2021, at age 102. The following is from his biography at the Infogalactic wiki: “He was born March 29, 1919, in Hankow, China. On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong was also attacked by the Japanese. As a member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC), Anderson fought the Japanese but after 17 days of heavy fighting, Hong Kong surrendered. On Christmas Day 1941, exactly four years after he had escaped from the Japanese …


Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1.) Three principles for educating your child Educating your children is going to take a lot of investment. In beginning stages the things you need are free or cheap but you will need to invest a lot of time. As the student gets older the materials will cost more but each student will be capable of more independent work. Regardless of where they are on that journey some principles will always be guiding you as you parent and teach. I’ll suggest 3: Homeschooling is a way of life. Follow and grow interest. Be brilliant in the basics. …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: 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. — Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson suggested this interesting article: How I Persuade Free-Roaming Ducks to Lay Eggs For Me. o  o  o Video of congressional testimony by a Special Forces veteran on the aftermath of Biden’s shameful handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal: Retired Lt. Col.’s Remarks Receive Thunderous Applause From House Foreign …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 28, 2023

On this day in 845, a 5,000-man strong fleet of Danish Vikings invaded Frankish lands. They only retreated after besieging Paris and securing a ransom from the Frankish King Charles the Bald. This was part of a series of devastating raids begun by the Vikings in the 790s. The Vikings were led by a man named “Reginherus” or Ragnar, sometimes linked to the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok. The Vikings easily overcame defenses set in place by Charlemagne and are known to have attacked the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés just outside the city. Although struck by an outbreak of plague, the …


Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 1, by N.C.

I was surprised to see that homeschooling was a topic of interest for SurvivalBlog but given homeschooling’s growth over the last few years, I ought not have been. So first, why should you listen to me? Well, I was homeschooled K-12, graduated college, got two advanced degrees, taught at the university level, and am now homeschooling my own kids. My wife’s much more practical choice of major means that this is the logical choice for us. I am a homeschooling success story and I believe in it enough to shoulder the cost and the work (as my children shoulder the …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, news of Idaho’s new school restroom law. (See the Idaho section.) Region-Wide In a lengthy and rambling piece, a Vanity Fair reporter gets an earful from some libertarian Galt’s Gulching preppers: Inside the Dissident Fringe, Where the New Right Meets the Far Left, and Everyone’s …