Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 20, 2023

On December 20th, 1988, Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, because of a terrorist bombing; in 2003 the government of Libya accepted responsibility for the explosion and in 2004 agreed to compensate the families of the victims. Pictured is the Lockerbie Memorial Garden. Following Abraham Lincoln‘s election as U.S. president, on On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first U.S. state to secede from the Union. On December 20th, 1606, the Virginia Company loaded three ships with settlers and set sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest …


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. — First up today: US agency will not reinstate $900 million subsidy for SpaceX Starlink unit.  JWR’s Comments:  To me, this news illustrates two things:  First, the ostensibly neutral Federal regulatory agencies have become politicized, if not weaponized. This says more about how leftists dislike Elon Musk for his politics, more than anything …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 19, 2023

On December 19, 1777, during the War of Independence, General George Washington led 11,000 regulars to take up winter quarters at Valley Forge on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, 22 miles (35 km) northwest of Philadelphia. — December 19, 1915, French singer and actress Edith Piaf, whose interpretation of the chanson (French ballad) made her internationally famous, was born.  Her song Chanson D’amour became an international hit.  And you may recall that her song Tu Es Partout was prominent in the movie Saving Private Ryan, just before the German attack. — This new listing in Murtaugh, Idaho (near Twin …


Resisting Thought Control – Pt. 1, by Cyclops

A recent headline read: “Corporate Executive Pays to Deprogram Daughter After Freshman Year”. Years ago, the process of deprogramming might have been reserved for a prisoner of war (POW), or a victim of a cult. Not anymore. A normal adolescent attending any one of the couple thousand colleges or universities in America will be subjected to indoctrination and thought control. In the case of this headline, one parent decided to do something about it. The sad reality is that anyone living in America today is subjected to a constant onslaught of inputs from someone who wants to influence our mind, …


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, we focus on a bald eagle poaching prosecuation.  (See the Montana section.) Region-Wide Some serious Eco-LARPers, gone wild, in Idaho, Montana, and the eastern fringe of the Cascades, in Washington: Living Wild: Surviving with the Means of the Stone Age — Survival Documentary.  JWR’s Comments: …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 18, 2023

On this day in 1865, by proclamation of the U.S. Secretary of State, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery, officially entered into force, having been ratified by the requisite states on December 6.  As a footnote, the slaves in Texas only belatedly got the word of their liberation in the middle of the following June — in 1866. Hence, the origin of the annual “Juneteenth” celebrations — recently enshrined as a Federal holiday. — On December 18, 1737, famed Italian violin maker Antonio Stradivari died in Cremona. A rare Stradivarius violin sold for near-record $15.3 million, in 2022. …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or be cheated out of …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — December 17, 2023

December 17th, 1905, was the birthday of Simo Häyhä, who was the world’s most successful sniper. Using an iron-sighted Mosin–Nagant in Finland’s Winter War, he had an astounding 505 confirmed sniper kills. He died April 1, 2002. — And speaking of Finns, on December 17, 1939, Finnish runner Taisto Mäki ran 10,000 meters in less than 30 minutes for the first time in recorded history. He broke his previous record by running the distance in 29 minutes 52 seconds. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week: 

The latest meme created by JWR, based on meme text suggested by reader S.F.: Meme Text: Surround yourself with a blanket of fond memories, but beware that it may be set on fire by your local leftists. News Links: Monuments Are Only the Start of Radical Left’s War on Western Values. Left hellbent on destroying mom-and-dad families. Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — December 16, 2023

The famed Boston Tea Party took place on December 16th, 1773. — December 16th, 1928, was the birthday of Philip K. Dick, who died on March 2, 1982. He penned a remarkable number of sci-fi novels and novellas that have been adapted into movies. — The Romanian Revolution began on December 16th, 1989. No less than 1,066 civilians died in the successful attempt to overthrow the dictatorial President Nicolae Ceaușescu. — This new 550-acre listing at SurvivaReallty.com looks amazingly versatile: Longhollow Acres – A Rural Refuge near Burkesville, Kentucky. — Today’s feature article is a guest post, by my #1 …


SurvivalBlog’s Annual Disclaimers, Provisos, and Public Notices

Just doing my annual duty… SurvivalBlog, a private information service, is obliged to post some disclaimers and provisos, annually. These notices are current as of December 16, 2023 and remain in force unless later specifically revoked or modified by the Editor. Advertising and Reviews Per FTC File No. P034520: SurvivalBlog accepts cash-paid advertising. We also have affiliate advertising  relationships. To the best of my knowledge, as of the date of this posting, none of our advertisers that sell the products mentioned in this blog have solicited SurvivalBlog or our staff to write any reviews or endorsements, nor have they provided …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both 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 the Odds ‘n …