Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. Today, a map showing Federal Spending Versus Federal Tax Revenues. Note that the maps shows far more than just impoverished regions. Spending levels are skewed in states with tribal lands. There is also lesser skewing in states with large National Forests and low population densities versus their miles of Federally-funded highways and freeways. The thumbnail below is click-expandable. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) Economics & Investing Links of Interest At Wolf Street: Car & Truck Inflation in America: …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 16, 2026

The Battle of Culloden was fought on April 16, 1746. Royalist troops under the Duke of Cumberland defeated the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart in the final battle of the Jacobite Rising on British soil. — April 16, 1866: Nitroglycerine exploded at a Wells Fargo & Company office in San Francisco. This reportedly shattered glass in a half a mile radius. — April 16th is the birthday of libertarian novelist J. Neil Schulman. He was best known as author of the novel Alongside Night. — I just heard that famed mountaineer Jim Whittaker passed away, at age 97. — Today’s …


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, some more troubling implications of AI and digital ID. Pictured above is the Dallas, Texas Fusion Center. The Digital Gulag of America: AI and Digital ID Despite its …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 15, 2026

On April 15th, 1621, Hugo Grotius arrived in France after escaping prison in a book chest. Grotius is renowned primarily for his work in philosophy, political theory, and law. This work laid the groundwork for an international law rooted in Grotius’ understanding of natural law, stemming from his Protestantism. His books with the most significant impact were De jure belli ac pacis (On the Law of War and Peace) and Mare Liberum (The Free Seas). — April 15th, 1912, is the anniversary of the sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic. 1,517 people lost their lives on the ship’s maiden voyage. — …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our 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. — At Clark Howard’s site: Food Expiration Dates: What You Need To Know.  The included charts are quite useful. Here is an excerpt: “Here are the most common terms you’ll see: Best If Used By/Before: Peak flavor or quality, not a safety deadline Use By: Last date for best quality (safety only applies …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 14, 2026

On April 14, 1849, Hungary declared itself independent of Austria, with Lajos (Louis) Kossuth as its leader. — On this day in 1865, just after the effective end of the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a production at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and died the next morning. — April 14, 1881: The famed Four Dead in Five Seconds gunfight in El Paso, Texas. — Today’s feature article is a guest post from a long-time SurvivalBlog reader. Because it is partly self-promotional, it is not part of the writing contest …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media 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. Today’s feature photo: The Blitzen River Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is located 60 miles south of Burns (less than 1 mile south of Frenchglen), in Harney County, Oregon. Frenchglen is named after Pete French, with whom my Shirk family cousins had a well-publicized range war. The northwestern edge of the WSA is adjacent to Oregon State Highway 205. (A public domain photo, courtesy of the BLM.)  The thumbnail …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 13, 2026

On April 13, 1012: A ransom of 48,000 pounds was paid to a large band of Vikings, led by Danish warlord Thorkell the Tall, for the liberation of Canterbury, after a raid on the city and the capture of Alphege [Aelfheah] Archbishop of Canterbury — April 13, 1743, was the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. — And on April 13, 1933: First flight over Mount Everest, by Lord Clydesdale. — We’ve just started a two-week-long sale on all of our pre-1899 antique shotguns at Elk Creek Company.  There are some deep discounts. This sale will end on Monday, April 27th, 2026. …


Recipe of the Week: 

The following recipe for Sweet Moroccan Lamb Stew is from SurvivalBlog reader Cartol in Delaware. It makes 4 to 6 servings. Ingredients 3 pounds lamb shoulder on the bone, trimmed of excess fat 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 large onions (about 2 pounds), grated or finely chopped 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (divided use) 1/2 cup sugar (divided use) 2 pinches of saffron threads, lightly toasted and finely crumbled or powdered in a mortar with a little salt Salt (to taste) Freshly ground black pepper (to taste) 1 cup water …