News From The American Redoubt:

Republican Party Sea Change:  No More Business as Usual in the State of Idaho. (The political influence of the American Redoubt movement is starting to be felt!) o o o The leftist hand-wringers at The Washington Post complain: ‘I’m looking at Drudge: “Syrian Refugees Rape Little Girl at Knifepoint in Idaho” – all false’   JWR’s Comment: Oh, I see, we shouldn’t be concerned because it wasn’t a “rape”. It was a mere  “sexual assault” of the five-year old. And the perpetrators were from Iraq and Sudan, rather than from Syria, as first reported.  So am I now supposed to feel …


Economics and Investing:

Deb B. wrote to mention this useful data from Kiplinger’s for anyone considering relocating: State-by-State Guide to Taxes on Retirees o o o G.G. flagged this piece by Michael Pento:  The next recession is already here—and there isn’t much the Fed can do o o o From The Drudge Report: Shares in Barclays, RBS and building firms suspended as Brexit sends prices plunging o o o Hoarding Cash in Vaults Seen More Attractive After Brexit Vote o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “Reese” recommended an uncharacteristically well-balanced article about the Ghost Gunner milling machine published by Bloomberg Business Week: A Crypto-Anarchist Will Help You Build a DIY AR-15.  Parenthetically, after a long wait I now own a Ghost Gunner an a box of 80% lower receiver blanks. With the seasoned technical assistance of Hugh Latimer, I plan to post a full review of it in SurvivalBlog. – JWR o o o Peter S. mentioned this: Homemade submachineguns used in Tel Aviv shooting. Peter’s comment: “This shows that ‘gun control’ legislation is a myth.” o o o Several readers sent this: [City of] …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Do not wait for a national audience. Speak on any scale open to you, large or small—to your friends, your associates, your professional organizations, or any legitimate public forum. You can never tell when your words will reach the right mind at the right time. You will see no immediate results—but it is of such activities that public opinion is made.” – Ayn Rand


Notes for Monday – June 27, 2016

June 27th is the birthday of economist Dr. Ravi Batra. (Born 1943.) This is also the birthday of movie director J.J. Abrams (of Star Trek fame.) On this day in 1957,  Hurricane Audrey made landfall, killing more than  400 people. o  o  o Safecastle’s big Mountain House long term storage foods sale ends on June 30th, so get your order in soon! o  o  o Today, we present another product review by Pat Cascio, our Senior Field Gear Editor:


Recipe of the Week: K.M.’s Hot Milk Sponge Cake

Reader K.M. sent a quick and simple recipe recommendation that is great for families with both laying hens and a home dairy cow.  She notes: “We are folks who often ask ourselves: ‘What are we going to do with all these eggs and this extra warm milk?’  Here is one answer.” Hot Milk Sponge Cake Ingredients: 1 Cup All-purpose flour 1 Teaspoon baking powder 2 Eggs 1 Cup of sugar 1/2 Cup milk 2 Tablespoons of butter (or margarine) Directions: Combine flour and baking powder. Then, in a bowl mix the two eggs with a hand or electric mixer set …


Letter: Pre-1965 90% Silver Coins are the Best Defense Against Counterfeits

Dear Editor: Those buying  silver and gold coins and bars need to be aware. I work in the industry at a well known coin shop in the mid-west. Time after time…week after week customers try to sell us fake items that they purchased from eBay, pawn shops, Craigslist, and elsewhere. It has become a bigger issue over the the last year and especially so in the last few months. When purchasing coins and bullion from customers we use our scales to make sure items are of proper weight, we use our calipers to check diameters, and we have the benefit of …


Letter Re: Tracking Dogs

Dear Editor: I have some experience with dogs that were specially-trained to track living humans, and with cadaver dogs. I agree with the previous Tracking Dog posts regarding restrictive points of terrain and/or infrastructure. In any escape route, there are always certain areas of heightened vulnerability, which an experienced team of searchers will not disregard. The Texas Rangers at one time (reportedly) enjoyed an annual manhunt in the Texas Panhandle. They would seek volunteers from vetted and trusty inmates whose reward at the end of the day, would be the day’s freedom and a good meal. The inmate would be …


Economics and Investing:

Over at Zero Hedge: Will Brexit Give the U.S. Negative Interest Rates? o o o Over at The Daily Bell:  Brexit Vote Is Great News for Britain, but Difficult Times Ahead o o o Gold Summer Doldrums Risk o o o UK’s departure makes EU disintegration ‘irreversible’: Soros o o o 15 Euro Stocks That Lost Over 10% to 25% After Brexit Shock o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mainstream magazine The Atlantic posits: Is Middle America Due for a Huge Earthquake? (Thanks to Peter S. for the link.) o o o Bad news from Hawaii: All registered gun owners are being added to the centralized “Rap Back” Federal crime database. o o o Truly pragmatic training: Tam (one of our favorite gun bloggers) describes learning practical pistol shooting with kids in tow. o o o Oregon standoff: Case of possible misconduct by FBI in LaVoy Finicum shooting now before grand jury




Using Canning Jars For All Food Stores and More – Part 2, by Sarah Latimer

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What We Store In Jars Dry, bulk goods. This category of items includes grains, dried pasta, dried potato flakes, dry beans, and rice for long-term storage. We buy these in 40- and 50-pound bags from the Mormon storehouse, Costco, and online vendors and then repackage them into the half gallon jars, which are then vacuum sealed, using our FoodSaver Jar Sealer connected to an electric vacuum pump system that Hugh installed into my kitchen. It takes less than a minute to put the lid on, vacuum seal a jar, and put the ring on. All I have to do at …


Letter Re: Radical Islam

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Dear James and Hugh, I was just reading the article mentioned on June 18th in SurvivalBlog regarding BHO’s refusal to mention ‘radical Islam’.  There are very few things that I agree with regarding the BHO’s thought process, but I tend to agree that our problem is not with ‘radical Islam’. As Scott Ott suggests, a better term would be ‘Literal Islam’. These people wreaking terror all over the world are taking their book of faith seriously or ‘literally’. Such a shame that more of us that claim to be followers of Christ don’t take His book as seriously. If we …


Letter: My Take on the U.S. Economy and Politics, and Their Implications for Prepping

HJL: I’m a both CPCU and CIC chartered senior insurance agent. I have observed that in a normal [business] year there is all sorts of business formation in the first three months.  I know because they ask for insurance quotes for the pro-forma or just come in and buy insurance, to to kick off operations. That activity has declined over the last three years to the point where it just did not happen this year. In the lead up to Mr. Obama’s election, business activity oriented to expansion practically stopped.  No one wanted to rent a building.  Very few bought …