The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I have spent most of my life as a Democrat. I recently have seen fit to follow another course. I believe that the issues confronting us cross party lines. Now, one side in this campaign has been telling us that the issues of this election are the maintenance of peace and prosperity. The line has been used, “We’ve never had it so good… As for the peace that we would preserve, I wonder who among us would like to approach the wife or mother whose husband or son has died in South Vietnam and ask them if they think this …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 17, 2020

December 17th, 1905, was the birthday of Simo Häyhä, who was the world’s most successful sniper. Using an iron-sighted Mosin–Nagant in Finland’s Winter War, he had an astounding 505 confirmed sniper kills. He died April 1, 2002. — I encourage any SurvivalBlog readers with friends or relatives who live in Georgia to phone them and exhort them to VOTE in the January 5th U.S. Senate runoff election. Maintaining Republican control of the Senate will be crucial in the next eight years! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 92 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The …


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 the ATF’s recent records-seizing raid on Polymer 80. T.E. Lawrence on Guerilla Warfare Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson recommended this book excerpt, over at the Soldiers of the Night blog:  …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 16, 2020

Today is the anniversary of The Boston Tea Party, in 1773.  This destructive act of protest was in response to the British Parliament’s passage of the Tea Act of 1773. Parenthetically, this protest wasn’t popularly called “The Boston Tea Party” until 1825. — Also, December 16th, 1928, was the birthday of writer Philip K. Dick, who died March 2, 1982. He penned a remarkable number of sci-fi novels and novellas that have been adapted into movies, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, Screamers, Impostor, Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, Next, and The Adjustment Bureau. Though he had a troubled personal …


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 your last-week-with-certain-shipping-before-Christmas shopping — especially tools that are Made …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 15, 2020

The 15th of December, 1923, was the birthday of Uziel “Uzi” Gal (born Gotthard Glas).  He is shown holding up an Uzi and a German MP-40, for comparison. According to Wikipedia, he was “…born in Weimar, Germany. When the Nazis came to power in 1933 he moved first to England and later, in 1936, to Kibbutz Yagur in the British Mandate of Palestine where he changed his name to Uziel Gal. In 1943, he was arrested for illegally carrying a gun and sentenced to six years in prison. However, he was pardoned and released in 1946, serving less than half …


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 COVID-19 death statistics in Wyoming. (See the Wyoming section.) Idaho Idaho health board meeting halted after ‘intense protests’. Here is how the article begins: “Idaho public health officials abruptly ended a meeting Tuesday after the Boise mayor and chief of police said …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 14, 2020

December 14th is the birthday of the late John Warren Wadleigh (born 1927, died September 24, 2013). Wadleigh was better known to many SurvivalBlog readers by his pen name– Oliver Lange. He was the author of the best-selling resistance warfare novel Vandenberg. He is pictured with his son. — This is also the birthday of Air Force General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, who died September 27, 1993. — I spotted two new listings of interest, over at my #1 Son’s site: 23 acres with creek and organic farmland, near Kettle Falls, Washington and, New log home with creek frontage adjoining …


Recipe of the Week: Sago, Rice, or Barley Soup

The following recipe for Sago, Rice, or Barley Soup 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 will be one of the many bonus items included in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This special 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021. The 14th Edition sold out quickly, so place a reminder in your calendar, if you want one. Ingredients 1 …


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 how telecommuting is opening up possibilities for living in rural regions. Precious Metals: A headline from Friday: Gold, silver and platinum take a beating. JWR Says: Buy on the dips! o  o  o Inflation Is Back, Big-Time Economy & Finance: At Zero Hedge: Swedish Central Bank Governor Slams Expansion …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — December 13, 2020

December 13th is the birthday of Sergeant Alvin York. — By way of Pat Cascio, I just heard of the passing of Professor Bradley J. Steiner, at age 74.  He was legendary in the martial arts world. Our condolences to his family. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 92 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course …