On December 19th,1776, Thomas Paine [1] published his first “American Crisis” essay that famously began: “These are the times that try men’s souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”.
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Some sad news: Gil Gerard dead: Buck Rogers star leaves heartfelt posthumous message [2].
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The big 50%-off sale at SurvivalRealty.com on all of their course materials and e-books ends tomorrow [3] (Saturday, December 20, 2025.) Don’t miss out on this pricing!
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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest
Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest [4]. The prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A Gunsite Academy [5]Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course [6] (a $1,095 value),
- A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” [7] variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources [8] (a $350 value),
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) [9] is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses [10]. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course [11].
- HSM Ammunition [12] in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
- Harvest Guard [13] is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.
Second Prize:
- A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training [14], that has a combined retail value of $679
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord [15] (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com [16] (a $287 value).
- Preparedness author Jennifer Rader [17] is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company [18], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
- A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters [19] (a $305 value),
- Two sets of [20]The Civil Defense Manual, [21] (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
- A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC [22] that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company [18], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
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More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 122 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail [23] 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics [24]. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.