Preparedness Notes for Saturday — June 29, 2024

On June 29, 1939, Ford introduced the revolutionary Ford-Ferguson 9N tractor incorporating Harry Ferguson‘s three-point hitch system. — On June 29th,  1540, the UK parliament passed The Act of Attainder over former Chancellor of the Exchequer of England Thomas Cromwell, indicting him as a heretic — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Thomas Christianson. We are in need of entries for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running the contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking …


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 …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day

 “Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. The Lord spake also unto me …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — June 28, 2024

On June 28, 1880, the Australian bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly was captured at Glenrowan.  He was executed on November 11th of the same year. — June 28th, 1703 was the birthday of theologian John Wesley. He died March 2, 1791. — Today’s feature article is a guest piece by Brandon Smith, the Editor of Alt-Market.us. — We need some entries for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll …


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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at some economic effects of the A.I. revolution. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: From Kitco: Gold and silver’s next act – Matt Watson on precious metals and growing industrial demand. o  o  o Jordan Roy-Byrne, over at Gold-Eagle.com: Historical Comparisons for Gold Right Now. Economy & Finance: From Fortune: IMF …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 27, 2024

On June 27, 1778, the Liberty Bell returned home to Philadelphia after the British army’s departure. Today is the birthday Leroy James Sullivan (born June 27, 1933) is an American firearms inventor. Going by Jim Sullivan, he has designed several “scaled-down” versions of larger firearms. He also designed the Beta C-MAG double snail drum magazines. Today is also the birthday of Paul Mauser, (June 27, 1838 – May 29, 1914). He was a German weapon designer and manufacturer.  His strong and reliable bolt action design was used by many nations. The U.S. Springfield Model 1903 is based on the Mauser …


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, another look at the government’s arbitrary mask laws. DHS Conflated ‘Religious’ and ‘Veteran” With Domestic Terrorism In The Federalist: Report: DHS Group Called Being ‘Religious’ An ‘Indicator’ Of …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Roll away the dawn, Roll away the dawn, and let me see, The land of the free, Has anything changed at all? Sweet liberty, Sweet liberty is in our hands, It’s part of the plan, Or is it a state of mind? Horses and men, Horses and men are on the field, They didn’t yield, Many have fallen here; Never forget, Never forget what they have done, The time will come, When it will change again, Never forget!” – Chris DeBurgh, lyrics to the song “Liberty“


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 26, 2024

On June 26, 1894, Karl Benz of Germany received a US patent for a gasoline engine-driven automobile. — Last Day of the sale!  The big sale on all of the percussion revolvers in our Elk Creek Company inventory ends tonight.  No paperwork is required. Cartridge conversion cylinders are available for many of these guns. These can be mailed right to your door, in most states.  This sale ends at midnight Pacific Time tonight (Tuesday, June 26th), so get your order in, ASAP! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction 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. — Magma beneath Mount St. Helens is ‘recharging,’ scientists say.  This article begins: “Mount St. Helens, which notoriously erupted in 1980, has been showing signs of increased seismic activity lately, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It’s thought to be part of the volcano’s natural magma recharging process. The volcano, which sits on …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 25, 2024

On June 25th, 1876, Native American forces led by Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeated the U.S. Army troops of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in a bloody battle near southern Montana’s Little Bighorn River. The Battle of Little Bighorn – also called Custer’s Last Stand – marked the most decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War. While complicated, the generally accepted reason for the battle is that the discovery of gold in South Dakota’s Black Hills in 1875 led to the U.S. government disregarding previous treaty agreements. The gruesome …


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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, we focus on the recent eastern Idaho agricultural water controversy. (See the Idaho section.) Idaho Will 500,000 acres of Idaho farmland lose access to water? An update: Water curtailment order lifted for East Idaho farmers.  Here is a quote: “Groundwater irrigators and surface water irrigators have …