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 labor shortages at meat packing plants. Some Bad Gun Legislation Before Congress In addition to the much-publicized H.R. 5717, the U.S. House of representatives will also be considering H.R. 6318 …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 9, 2020

On May 9th, 1945, Herman Goering– commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, president of the Reichstag, head of the Gestapo, prime minister of Prussia, and Hitler’s designated successor– was taken prisoner by the U.S. Seventh Army in Bavaria. Goering, who was addicted to painkillers due to a wound, was instrumental in creating concentration camps for political enemies. It was Goering who ordered the purging of German Jews from the economy following the Kristallnacht program in 1938, initiating an “Aryanization” policy that confiscated Jewish property and businesses. Tried and convicted at the Nuremberg trials, he was sentenced to hanging, but before …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. …




Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 8, 2020

Today, May 8th, is the birthday of Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek. (Pictured.) This is also the birthday of missionary and U.S. military intelligence officer John Birch. (Born, 1918, died August 25, 1945.) He is considered by many to be the first American casualty of the Cold War. — 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 to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price …




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 big surge in gun-buying in the United States. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Arkadiusz Sieroń: Will Gold Decline As Economies Gradually Reopen? o  o  o Update #2: $3K To $20K Gold Coming? These Pundits (Now 34) Think So! Economy & Finance: At the TaxProf Blog: Colleges Face …







Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 7, 2020

On May 7, 1992, a 203-year-old proposed constitutional amendment barring the U.S. Congress from giving itself a midterm pay raise was ratified—the 27th Amendment. — 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 to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or …




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 hunting, in the midst of meat shortages. The Murder Hornets Have Arrived Several readers sent this: Tracking the ‘Murder Hornet’: A Deadly Pest Has Reached North America Trump to Name …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or be cheated out of …







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 are also links to sources for both storage food and storage 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 chicken coop building. (See the Books section and the Instructional Videos section.) Books: How to …







Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — May 5, 2020

May 5th is the birthday of Pat Frank (1908-1964). This was the pen name of newspaper journalist Harry Hart Frank. His novel Alas, Babylon is a survivalist classic. His personal life was marred by alcoholism, but his writing is admired and still surprisingly popular, today. (Alas, Babylon is still in print, after more than 50 years!) As an homage to Pat Frank, one of the settings in my novel Expatriates is Mt. Dora, Florida, which was fictionalized by Pat Frank as “Fort Repose” in Alas, Babylon.




Learning Food Storage From Hard Experience, by PitbullRN

We all have our stories on how and why we got in to prepping. Mine began about seven years ago after reading One Second After, a 2009 novel by American writer William R. Forstchen. (I highly recommend this book, if you haven’t had the chance to read it!)  It is about how life changes for a small western North Carolina town following the collapse of the grid due to an EMP. As a nurse who lives in Western North Carolina, this book interested me not only for the setting, but how people with chronic illnesses would suffer and die if …