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. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, some explanation of the Basel III Agreement.  (See the Precious Metals section.) Pictured above is the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Precious Metals: Basel III Endgame: what you need to know. JWR’s Comments: One little-known provision of Basel III is that beginning in July of this year it will require banks …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that ‘old soldiers never die, they just fade away.’ And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 17, 2025

Jan-de-Heem (Jan Davidszoon de Heem) was born April 17, 1606 in Utrecht.  From the InfoGalactic Wiki: “Jan-de-Heem was a stilllife painter who was active in Utrecht and Antwerp. He is a major representative of that genre in both Dutch and Flemish Baroque painting. De Heem was born in Utrecht as Johannes van Antwerpen. He studied first under his father David de Heem the Elder (1570–1631), then under Balthasar van der Ast. His ‘middle name’, Davidsz, is a patronym referring to his father’s name: In Dutch a name ending in -sz is like -son in English and Mac- in Scottish, meaning …


Avoiding the Worst Case Scenario – Part 2, by M.B.

(Continued from Part 1.) Some U.S. states and municipalities still practice anarcho-tyranny, with the state of California being a standout example. Homeless people and illegal aliens are largely ignored, while minor infractions by taxpaying residents are zealously enforced. Professor Victor Davis Hanson—affectionately known as “VDH”—is a classicist, author, and podcaster. VDH has written and spoken extensively about the situation in California. Comedian, filmmaker, and podcaster Adam Carolla has similarly spoken about the differential treatment between groups of people in California. He sees the reason that mountains of red tape are heaped onto taxpayers and homeowners is that they’re capable of …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, we take a special look at trends in preparedness tactical training. A New York Times Reporter Heads to The Range Lily alerted me to this New York Times …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 16, 2025

On April 16, 73 AD, the Masada fortress fell to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt.  From the InfoGalactic Wiki: “The siege of Masada was one of the final events in the First Jewish–Roman War, occurring from 72 to 73 CE on and around a hilltop in present-day Israel. The siege is known to history via a single source, Flavius Josephus, a Jewish rebel leader captured by the Romans, in whose service he became a historian. According to Josephus the long siege by the troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Glock May Be Discontinuing .40 S&W, .357 SIG, and .45 GAP Pistols o  o  o Three Decades Wiped from Life Expectancy of Covid-Vaxxed. o  o  o Randy in S.C. mentioned this article: We moved to a farm in rural Maine because we thought homesteading would save us money. It didn’t.  Randy’s Comment:  “This …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 15, 2025

The Battle of Rain was fought on April 15, 1632. Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeated Count Tilly of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years’ War. — Today is guitarist Roy Clark‘s birthday. He was born April 15, 1933. — On April 15th, 1912, the “unsinkable” Titanic sank. 1,517 people lost their lives on that maiden voyage. As research into the incident has progressed over the last 100 years, it seems as if, one way or another, the ship was just going to sink. Impact with an iceberg, raging coal fires in the fuel supply, wrong turns, locked-up binoculars, …


The Illegitimate 16th and 17th Amendments, by M.A.

The 16th and 17th amendments failed ratification for a number of reasons which include lack of ratification by several states, several states that changed the wording of the amendment and sent back an amendment that was different from that which congress sent forth, and one oddity: Ohio. Ohio was not admitted into the union until the 1950s since they never sent their formal acceptance of statehood until then; it seems somehow the paperwork was lost in the process and never sent to Congress. Therefore, it was not possible for Ohio to vote since it was actually still a territory at …


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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, news about Idaho’s Vaccine Freedom Law.  (See the Idaho section.) Idaho Idaho Governor Signs Bill Banning Businesses, Schools From Requiring Medical Procedures, Including Vaccines. An excerpt: “Republican Governor Brad Little has signed legislation, the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, that bans businesses and schools from requiring customers, …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 14, 2025

On April 14, 1471, in the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Barnet was fought.  In this battle, Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians and killed the Earl of Warwick. — April 14, 1775: The first abolitionist society in US was organized in Philadelphia. — On this day in 1865, just after the effective end of the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a production at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and died the next morning. Also on April 14, 1865, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family were …


Makers and Riders Pants, by Thomas Christianson

Two friends and I each recently had the opportunity to test several pair of Makers and Riders Pants. We each tested their “Traveler” softshell jeans and their 3 season “Dispatch Rider” jeans. We found the Traveler jeans to be extremely comfortable for everyday wear during cool weather. They cost $109 at the time of this writing at www.makersandriders.com . The Dispatch Rider jeans were outstanding for everyday and field wear during cold weather. They are water resistant and fleece lined. They cost $118 at the time of this writing. The owner of Makers and Riders got caught up in supply …