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 recent appeals court decision on open carry. 9th Circuit Court Says: No Right To Open Carry Several readers mentioned this news: 9th Circuit Court Rules Second Amendment Doesn’t Guarantee …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The mainstream of Western civilization is thus apparent, the desire to control and change others as the essence of true power. This lust for power, the pathology of all fallen men, is common to cultures all over the world. It is an expression of man’s original sin, his desire to be as God, knowing or determining for himself what constitutes good and evil.” – Rousas John “R.J.” Rushdoony, in The Death of Meaning, p. 92


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 31, 2021

March 31 is the birthday of the late economist Dr. Walter E. Williams, PhD., who was born in 1936. His book American Contempt for Liberty is highly recommended. — Just as I expected, orders have been brisk since I reactivated our “shopping cart” yesterday. at Elk Creek Company.  We received eight orders for a total of 12 guns by 3 PM on March 30th. 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) …


Movie Reviews: Two for the Price of One, by Large Marge

I visit elderly shut-ins around Eugene, Oregon. Yesterday, one of our regulars got on her trailer-court facebook dealy-bobber to invite a bunch of geezers to her trailer for spectating at televisionprogramming on her new big-screen television set. We watched a couple ‘presentations’: a) RICHARD JEWELL directed by Mister Clint Eastwood hisownself, and b) SEASPIRACY financed by hollywood darling Leonardo DiCaprio. This semi-review is in two parts: a) is for the flicks, and b) is for the audience ‘participation’. And here we go… a) Anybody over the age of twenty-five probably remembers the terrorist attack at the 1996 Olympic Games in …


Avoiding Water Damage To Engines, by Michael Z. Williamson

I just blew up a car engine by driving through a puddle. Many of us remember our older vehicles tackling flood conditions.  My old 1983 station wagon and my full-size 1996 van drove through three feet of water, more than once. On many new vehicles, including the Chrysler minivans, Dodge Challenger, and the Minis, the intake tube for the air cleaner is actually down behind the fog lamp near the bottom of the air dam.  I drove through a puddle no more than 8″ deep, which threw up a bow wave, and the engine inhaled it.  Water doesn’t compress.  The block …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 30, 2021

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr..  Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and District of Columbia police officer Thomas K. Delahanty. Known for his quips and unaware of the injury to others at the scene, President Reagan walked into the hospital, despite his wound, and was heard telling his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” — I’m in transit back to the Rawles Ranch today, so I’ve reactivated the Elk Creek Company shopping cart. The hiatus is …


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. The first four of today’s Snippets come courtesy of reader Animal House: Heartland Republicans Unite to Defend Meat Against Liberal Attack. GOP rallies around meat industry in response to attack by Colorado’s Jared Polis. o  o  o New Crisis? The Canadian Border May Soon Be Swarming with Illegal Immigrants. “A new spike in the number of families and children crossing …


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, a special edition of this column, with a listing of ammunition and ammo component manufacturing companies in the American Redoubt region. Note that most of these companies have been overwhelmed with orders since February of 2020, and they have built large order backlogs. In addition …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Nothing is more usual, among states which have made some advances in commerce, than to look on the progress of their neighbours with a suspicious eye, to consider all trading states as their rivals, and to suppose that it is impossible for any of them to flourish, but at their expence.  In opposition to this narrow and malignant opinion, I will venture to assert, that the encrease of riches and commerce in any one nation, instead of hurting, commonly promotes the riches and commerce of all its neighbours; and that a state can scarcely carry its trade and industry very …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 29, 2021

Today is the 102nd birthday of William “Bill” Summers Anderson. At last report, he was still living. The following is from his biography at the Infogalactic wiki: “He was born March 29, 1919, in Hankow, China. On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong was also attacked by the Japanese. As a member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC), Anderson fought the Japanese but after 17 days of heavy fighting, Hong Kong surrendered. On Christmas Day 1941, exactly four years after he had escaped from the Japanese in China, he became a …


Recipe of the Week: Big Ben’s Texas Goulash

The following recipe for Texas Goulash was kindly by SurvivalBlog reader Big Ben. It was developed with freezer storage in mind. He later adapted it for home freeze-drying. Ingredients 5 lbs Ground Beef 5 lbs Macaroni Noodles 2 lbs Frozen Corn 1 large Onion diced 1 #10 can Tomato Sauce 2 10 oz cans Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chile 2 4 oz cans diced green chile 1 10.75 oz can condensed tomato soup 1 ½ c Italian seasoning spice mix ½ c Chili powder ¼ c granulated onion ¼ c granulated garlic ½ c minced garlic ¼ c …


20 Reasons Why America’s Next Bank Holiday Will Be a Nightmare (Updated)

JWR’s Introductory Note: Today, in lieu of our regular bi-weekly Economics and Investing column, I’m presenting an update to an article that I wrote for SurvivalBlog, back in June of 2012, titled:  20 Reasons Why America’s Next Bank Holiday Will Be a Nightmare. If anyone compares this with the original edition, you will see that I’m standing by the majority of my 2012 predictions and recommendations. If anything, nine years later, the threats that we’d face in a banking crisis will be even greater, because of increased reliance on electronic payment systems, power grid reliance, Internet reliance, and the larger …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 28, 2021

On this day in 845, a 5,000-man strong fleet of Danish Vikings invaded Frankish lands. They only retreated after besieging Paris and securing a ransom from the Frankish King Charles the Bald. This was part of a series of devastating raids begun by the Vikings in the 790s. The Vikings were led by a man named “Reginherus” or Ragnar, sometimes linked to the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok. The Vikings easily overcame defenses set in place by Charlemagne and are known to have attacked the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés just outside the city. Although struck by an outbreak of plague, the …