The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. For thus saith the Lord God; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, …




Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 23, 2020

On October 23rd, 2002, around 50 Chechen rebels stormed a Moscow theater, taking 700 hostages during a popular musical. After 57 hours, during which two hostages were killed, Soviet Special Forces pumped a powerful narcotic gas into the theater knocking the terrorists and hostages unconscious before breaking in through the walls and roof. When the dust settled, most of the rebels and 120 hostages were dead–many of them killed by the gas. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 91 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic …




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 the coming divergence in rural versus urban real estate prices. (See: The Work From Home Transformation section and the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: U.S. stimulus to trigger rally: Gold price to surge to $2,200 by year-end – ANZ o  o  o The Piper is Calling: A Sea of …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“It is not certain that with this aid alone [possession of arms], they would not be able to shake off their yokes. But were the people to possess the additional advantages of local governments chosen by themselves, who could collect the national will, and direct the national force; and of officers appointed out of the militia, by these governments and attached both to them and to the militia, it may be affirmed with the greatest assurance, that the throne of every tyranny in Europe would be speedily overturned, in spite of the legions which surround it.” – James Madison




Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 22, 2020

This is the birthday of painter and book illustrator N.C. Wyeth (1882–1945). This is also the birthday of actor Jeff Goldblum (born 1952), who had unforgettable roles in Buckaroo Banzai and in the Jurassic Park and Independence Day films. — I just noticed that Amazon.com has updated their ordering page for my latest book (The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide) to read: “Usually ships within 1 to 2 months.”  Sooooo… They apparently blew through their entire inventory in two days. (I just love Book Bomb days!) I really doubt that Simon & Schuster is going to want to do Amazon any …




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 a legal challenge to 80% receivers. Another 1876-Style Presidential Election? Some food for thought: Americans worry about 2020 being another 2000, but the real worry is another 1876. California Sues Feds …







Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 21, 2020

Today is the birthday of the late R.J. Rummel. October 21, 1932 – March 2, 2014. He was was professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii. He spent his career assembling data on collective violence and war with a view toward helping their resolution or elimination. Rummel coined the term democide for murder by government (compare genocide), and his research suggests that six times as many people died of democide during the 20th century than in all that century’s wars combined. He is best known as the author of:  Death by Government: A History of Mass Murder …




JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books, and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how-to” self-sufficiency videos. There is also an emphasis on links to sources for storage food and a variety of storage and caching containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on PVS-14 Night Vision Monoculars. (See the Gear section.) Books: …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The 1994 assault weapons and high-capacity magazines bans worked. And if I am elected president, we’re going to pass them again — and this time, we’ll make them even stronger. We’re going to stop gun manufacturers from circumventing the law by making minor modifications to their products — modifications that leave them just as deadly. And this time, we’re going to pair it with a buyback program to get as many assault weapons off our streets as possible as quickly as possible. I won’t stop there. I’ll get universal background checks passed, building on the Brady Bill, which establishing the …




Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 20, 2020

Today is the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, but was a long-time resident of Butte, Montana. His classic book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting is fascinating reading. Today is the birthday of the late Tom Petty. (Born October 20, 1950, died October 2, 2017). He was a great singer-songwriter and a passable actor. October 20th is also the birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He lives somewhere in the American Redoubt. On his ranch is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of …




Book Bomb Day For The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide!

[UPDATED] Hooray! Today is the much-awaited Book Bomb Day for my latest nonfiction book, The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide. My sincere thanks for waiting until today to place your order. Hopefully, with this big one-day surge of orders, it will push it into Amazon’s Top 100 (overall, in books) by this afternoon. We’re also hoping to make it onto the New York Times Bestsellers list, this weekend. Amazon Sales Rank Updates: Sunday, October 18th, 5 PM, Pacific Time:  #13,007 in Books Monday, October 19th, 8 PM, Pacific Time:  #7,685 in Books Tuesday, October 20th, 4:30 AM, Pacific Time: #6,058 in Books …




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 Yellowstone National Park’s efforts to boost its Trumpeter Swan population. (See the Wyoming section.) Region-Wide Supply chain issues affect items from cars to fishing lures o  o  o What’s Next for the Pacific Northwest? — Neutral El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Conditions o  …







Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 19, 2020

We’re counting down the hours!  Book Bomb Day for my latest book (The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide) will be tomorrow Tuesday: October 20, 2020. Please wait to place your order until after midnight tonight, eastern time, to maximize the rankings on Amazon.com, and on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Thanks! — October 19th is the birthday of some notables. First is the late Alexander Zeisal “Zus” Bielski –he and part of his partisan band are pictured.  Other birthdays today: investor Jim Rogers (born 1942), and James Howard Kunstler (born 1948). Kunstler is well known to SurvivalBlog readers as the …