Preparedness Notes for Saturday — March 25, 2023

National Medal of Honor Day is officially observed on March 25th of each year in the United States. — On March 25 1944, RAF Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade survived a jump from a burning Lancaster bomber from 18,000 feet over Germany without a parachute. His fall was broken by pine trees boughs and soft snow, and he suffered only a sprained leg. He died on June 22nd, 1987. — This is also the birthday of English film director David Lean. He was born in Croydon, England in 1908. He died in 1991. He is best known for his films Lawrence …


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 …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 24, 2023

March 24th is the birthday of Dr. Art Robinson, who was born in 1942. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present 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 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), Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 …


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, some more coverage of the ongoing banking crisis. Precious Metals: Posted back on March 16th: Gold sparkles in stormy week for markets. Some Observations by JWR: The prices for precious metals have been quite solid, and are showing signs of starting a stair-stepping pattern. There is a whiff of bull market in the air. To …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 23, 2023

Today is the anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death speech. It was delivered to the Second Virginia Revolutionary Convention meeting at St. John’s Church, Richmond, on March 23, 1775. This is also the birthday of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. He directed 30 films. His samurai films (many of them starring Toshiro Mifune) such as Yojimbo, Sanjuro, The Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, The Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, and Ran are considered legendary in the cinema world. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for …


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, a closer look at the threat of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). An Extremely Rare Farside Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) Over at Spaceweather: Extremely Rare CME.  Here are a …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 22, 2023

March 22nd, 1821 was the birthday of Benjamin Tyler Henry. He was an American gunsmith and manufacturer. On October 16, 1860, he received a patent on the Henry .44 caliber repeating rifle. The first Henry rifles were not produced for Union Army use until mid-1862. Henry died on December 29, 1898. This is the birthday of Louis L’Amour. (Born 1908, died 1988.) Some of his novels have survival themes. One of particular interest to survivalists is Last of the Breed. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes …


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. — S.4986, the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today Act (SHORT) Act needs more co-sponsors. This bill would remove short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and other weapons from regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA). Given the ATF’s recent arbitrary redefinition of arm-braced pistols as SBRs, this bill is quite important. If elected, it …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 21, 2023

On March 21, 1556, Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury, was burned at the stake for violating heresy laws revised under the Roman Catholic queen Mary I. (“Bloody Mary.”) — We’ve reached the Vernal Equinox, so Spring is officially here. Though there is still some unusually late snow still on the ground here at the Rawles Ranch, it certainly feels like Spring. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present 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 Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing …


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, some more discussion of the Greater Idaho partition plan. (See the Regional News section.) Regional News Gem State lawmakers seem to be taking the ‘Greater Idaho’ movement seriously. Should Oregon? An excerpt: “Greater Idaho was always a longshot, and it’s come a lot further than …