Economics & Investing For Preppers

Today, in lieu of our regular column of Economics & Investing news items, I’m posting my retrospective on the long-term legacy of currency debasement in the United States. I chose to do so this week because Richard M. Nixon’s Day of Perfidy was 50 years ago, earlier this month. The U.S.: 50 Years in Currency Fantasyland It was 50 years ago, in August of 1971, that the United States finally severed its last vestige of a gold standard. This came when President Nixon announced that the Treasury “temporarily” ceased redemption in gold of U.S. Dollars presented by foreign governments. He …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 29, 2021

August 29th is a mournful day, as we remember the anniversary of the death of “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” – Isaiah 40:3. John, the Baptist, who heralded the first coming of our Lord and stood true to his belief in the face of death, was beheaded on this day in 29AD. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 96 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: To share this, you can find it here: https://kapwi.ng/c/gbyNjcklkb Meme Text: Joe Biden: Making Talibanistan Great Again. Four Out of Six Jihadis Prefer American M4s. They Say: “Thanks, Sniffy Joe” Related News Links:  Biden’s Gift to Taliban Included 110 Helicopters, 20 Light Attack Airplanes, 42,000 Light Attack Vehicles, 25,000 Grenade Launchers. Disturbing Footage Shows Extent Of Weapons Seized By Taliban After Biden’s Disastrous Pullout. The Taliban Are Ditching AK-47s for Captured U.S. M16 Rifles. Taliban shows off ‘special forces’ in propaganda blitz.


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 13: 47-50 (KJV)


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 28, 2021

August 28, 1833: Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 96 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make 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 this column, in …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 27, 2021

August 27, 1917 was the birthday of American gun designer Robert Hillberg, who was best known as the designer of the C.O.P. four-barrel derringer, Winchester’s Liberator shotguns, the graceful Whitney Wolverine, and the Wildey .44 Magnum gas-operated pistol. He died in 2012. — Incoming! The Sun Fires-Off an ‘Earthbound’ CME. It is a Class 3, but it is still a good excuse to put all your spare electronics in your Faraday cans/cages/bags. If you have a grid-tied PV system, then it might be a good idea to throw the interconnect breaker to go independent for a while. It is also …


WTSHTF: What Will the Police Do?, by Gramthar’s Hammer

Full disclosure: I am one of them. Or I was one of them, to be more accurate. I’m retired now, so I spend my days watching the lawn grow and pondering various “what-ifs”. One of these gedankenexperiments is: “What if the wheels come off the wagon and the police are no longer guardians of peace. What would the police do if they became hungry and angry, just like the masses.” My wife thinks I should get a hobby, to which I answer I already have one: prepping. For 27 years I worked in law enforcement for several agencies. Most of …


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. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at Bitcoin regaining $50,000. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: I just noticed the silver to gold ratio has slipped back down to 76.26-to-1.  So this is a good juncture for you to ratio trade some of your gold into silver. And to reiterate a point that I …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 26, 2021

August 26, 526, is the official anniversary of the invention of toilet paper by the Chinese. We celebrate this, though not because of its convenience. In fact, it has many shortcomings, some which are described within the articles and letters of SurvivalBlog. Our celebration of it is primarily because we now have an official metric of just how hard core of a prepper you are as well as a metric for just how economically unstable your country is. — August 26, 1946 was the official release date of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” — Today we present a guest article by Jack …


Review of Joe Dolio’s Tactical Wisdom, by Jack Lawson

Editor’s Introductory Note: This review was authored by Jack Lawson, author of the two-volume The Civil Defense Manual. Rarely does a book or series of books catch my attention like the Tactical Wisdom series. It could have been authored by my alter ego. The author, Joe Dolio, has created what I consider a must-read companion to my  Civil Defense Manual. His book “Tactical Wisdom TW-01 Baseline Training Manual” has almost every procedure in it that my book has… presented in a concise and superb manner. He also has a great writing style. The man clearly must be a genius, if …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— 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. Today, we look at the flooding in Middle Tennessee. ‘Preppers’ Quietly Stock Up for the ‘Perfect Storm’ Over at The Epoch Times: ‘Preppers’ Quietly Stock Up for the ‘Perfect Storm’. People Crushed to Death Outside …