Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 7, 2021

April 7th is the birthday of Colonel Bob Denard (born 1929, died October 13, 2007). He had an amazing life as a mercenary, including four attempted coups in the Comoros. — I noticed that there have been just a handful of reviews of my book The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide posted at the Barnes & Noble website.  If you’ve read that book, then I would greatly appreciate it if you’d post a brief review there.  Many Thanks!  – JWR — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 94 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 6, 2021

This is the birthday of famous American newsreel and radio journalist/narrator Lowell Thomas. — Gardening season is here!  One of our most loyal advertisers, Seed for Security, LLC is having an exceptional sale. Theirr Colossal Security Pack is now 15% off. This Pack is a total of 4 pounds 11 ounces of vegetable, herb, and grain seeds. All are open-pollinated and non GMO. Included are their three most popular collections: The Super Survival Pack, The 4 Grain Collection, and The Heirloom Herb Collection. Each Colossal Pack comes with a 4-page Seed Saving Guide. This offer is for a limited time. …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — W.R. sent this missive in resp[onse to my semi-ranty piece about the Biden-Harris team: “I don’t call them the Biden-Harris Administration. I prefer Regime or Junta. One thing that is rarely brought up is the fact that Harris is not eligible to be president. She is not a natural born citizen of the US. Her parents were not US …


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 the new book Survival And Resistance In Evangelical America. New In Print: Survival And Resistance In Evangelical America: Christian Reconstruction In The Pacific Northwest. JWR Notes: The American Redoubt movement figures prominently in this scholarly book. o  o  o John Jacob Schmidt, …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Being on the frontier, as I’ve said, required doing rather than imagining: clearing land, building shelter, obtaining food supplies. Frontiers test ideologies like nothing else. There is no time for the theoretical. That, ultimately, is why America has not been friendly to communism, fascism, or other, more benign forms of utopianism. Idealized concepts have rarely taken firm root in America, and so intellectuals have had to look to Europe for inspiration. People here are too busy making money – an extension, of course, of the frontier ethos, with its emphasis on practical initiative.” –  Robert D. Kaplan, Earning the Rockies: …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 5, 2021

Today is the birthday of Baron Arisaka Nariakira (有坂 成章, April 5, 1852 – January 12, 1915. )  He was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army. The inventor of the Arisaka Rifle, he is regarded as one of the leading arms designers in Japanese history, alongside Kijiro Nambu. — Orders have been brisk at Elk Creek Company.  This is your chance to add a few pre-1899 guns or replica percussion revolvers to your collection before the Senate votes on the “Universal Background Checks” bill. That draft law would criminalize transferring a modern (post-1898) gun to your neighbor, friend, …


Recipe of the Week: Braised Leg of Lamb

The following recipe for Braised Leg of Lamb is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book is one of the many bonus items included in the latest edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. The second production run of the 15th Anniversary Edition (2005-2020) USB stick should be available for ordering in late May. Ingredients 1 leg lamb Cracker-crum stuffing 1/2 onion 1 carrot 1 turnip 1/2 bay leaf 1 sprig each of thyme …


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 Bill Hwang (pictured) and the huge Archegos margin call debacle. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: Back in 2016, I advised SurvivalBlog readers to buy Rhodium. It was then at about $670 per ounce.  I just checked, and it is presently selling for $25,000 per ounce. Not …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Of course, states will be reluctant to invoke nullification but the alternative would be to watch our constitutional rights be trashed by leftists.  The MAGA movement in the Red States needs to became active in urging legislators and governors to start reclaiming their constitutional powers and begin nullifying illegal Federal law. Once states are engaged in nullifying federal laws, I believe we will witness what I call the ‘great migration” in which conservatives will leave blue states to live in red states and vice-versa.  And yes, this could lead to a peaceful balkanization of America in which the Red states …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 4, 2021

On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee. — For those of you who celebrate Easter, we wish you a joyful Sunday, in sober consideration of Christ’s death and resurrection. He is risen indeed! — Today’s feature article was too short for judging in Round 94 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Round 94 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail 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.



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Am I am not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord. If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 3, 2021

This is the birthday of Washington Irving, an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for short stories like Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he also wrote several biographies and served as the US Ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. — Congratulations to our readers in Iowa!  As a result of your grassroots lobbying efforts, Iowa just became the 19th State to re-assert Constitutional Carry. (Permitless concealed carry.)  That law will take effect on July 1st, 2021. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry …


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 …