Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 21, 2020

April 21st is Aggie Muster Day, for all Texas A&M Corps of Cadets graduates. Aggie Muster celebrations/meetings are held as far away as Japan, Germany, and Afghanistan. I should mention that my grandfather (a U.S. Army Cavalry LTC) was an Aggie– something mentioned so often that everyone in my family felt like de facto Aggies, too. Other than the officers that matriculate though West Point, the four institutions that seem to have the greatest esprit de corps for graduates are Texas A&M, The Citadel, Norwich University, and VMI. I felt almost obliged to include an Aggie character in my novels …




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 Alex Barron’s run for State Representative. (See the Idaho section.) Idaho The Idaho primary election is now less than a month away.  And the the general election will be in about 200 days. With the Mexican Beer Name Flu pandemic socialist distancing …







Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 20, 2020

On April 20th, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, leased by BP, killed 11 workers and began spewing an estimated 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico for nearly three months, creating the worst known offshore oil spill. April 20th is also the day that we remember the victims of the Columbine High School tragedy, where two students stormed into a suburban high school in Littleton, Colorado in 1999, at lunch time with guns and explosives, killing 13 and wounding dozens more in what was, at the time, the nation’s deadliest school shooting. …




Budget Retreat Security, by Pat Cascio

If you’ve been a reader of SurvivalBlog.com for any length of time, you’ve surely seen the term Operational Security and the acronym OPSEC. And just as often, you’ve seen the term retreat security. These two go hand-in-hand. Together, they can make your surroundings as safe and secure as possible. Sometimes, depending on your location, this might be simple. But other times, it takes a lot more work to make your surroundings as safe and secure as you possibly can. Every once in a while, I have to remind myself to maintain both OPSEC as well as retreat security. More than …




Recipe of the Week: Daniel’s Hamburger and Bean Casserole

Reader Daniel kindly sent us his recipe for hamburger and bean casserole. Ingredients 1 can french cut green beans 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 small can of tomato Paste 1 Lb. Ground Beef, Browned and Drained 1 can diced tomatoes 2 cups of Basmati rice Directions Cook the rice. Brown the beef and drain off any grease. When the rice is nearly done, preheat your oven to 350 F. Lay down ground beef as a thin layer, in an oven-proof casserole dish. Add a layer of cooked rice. Continue layering, alternating all of the beef and rice. Spread …




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 Really Big Helicopter Drop of Money. Precious Metals: Gold and silver prices down as risk appetite up late this week o  o  o ​Physical Gold and Silver to Continue to Soar on Massive Demand and Money Printing Everywhere The Really Big Helicopter Drop of Money It was Milton …







Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 19, 2020

April 19th is the original Patriot Day which marks the multiple anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”. This first battle, leading to our nation’s independence, was the then-dictator’s (United Kingdom King George III’s) failed attempt at “gun control”– an act being carried out in too many parts of our USA right now. This first gun control of the colonies was a failure, because of the will and determination of a small part of the population (about 3% actually fought for our independence actively, with many others supporting) to stand up …




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 travel controls to stop the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. Mutation Could Make COVID-19 Vaccine Search Futile Reader C.B. sent this from Fox News: ‘Significant’ coronavirus mutation discovered, could make vaccine …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

 “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 18, 2020

April 18th is the birthday of Washington Representative Matt Shea. (Born 1974). On April 18th, 1906, the San Francisco earthquake struck northern California, killing hundreds of people as it toppled numerous buildings and started fires that engulfed whole neighborhoods. The quake was so powerful that it knocked down chimneys in the Anderson Valley, 120 miles north of the city. The Doolittle Tokyo Raid was on April 18, 1942 — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up …




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. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted …




Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 17, 2020

On April 17, 1961, about 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. Due to the Cuba/Soviet intelligence network as well as loose talk by members of the brigade, which was repeated in US and foreign newspaper reports, the Cuban government knew, in advance, of the planned invasion. The Washington Post also reported that the Soviets knew the exact date of the attack, that the CIA was aware that they knew, and that the CIA did not inform president Kennedy. — Today’s guest article …