Letter Re: The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities

Mr. Editor: Regarding the recent discussion of the “Golden Horde” concept (in Patrice Lewis’s guest article The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities) — it seems that a review of the history of Germany’s 30 Years’ War (from 1618 to 1648) would be in order. You may recall how Wallenstein rejected the idea of a 40,000-man army, demanding 100,000. Austria protested that such a large army would be too expensive. The reply was, that the larger army would finance itself [through what was euphemistically called “foraging”, on a tactical scale, and “plunder” on a strategic scale], while the smaller …


News From The American Redoubt:

Viral disease killing hundreds of deer in the Palouse region o o o Who knew? It has now been documented that the perennial favorite rockabilly song Hot Rod Lincoln was originally written as a reminiscence of a race between the author’s Lincoln and a Cadillac up the Lewiston Grade, in north-central Idaho. (Thanks to R.B.S. for the link.) o o o Idaho: World Relief confirms that they will NOT be resettling refugees in Northern Idaho. (A hat tip to Michael H. for the link.) o o o I heard from a consulting client up in north Idaho that The Woodsman’s …


Economics and Investing:

The drop in the labor force is coming from prime-age Americans, not aging retirees: Examining the 94.6 million Americans not in the labor force o o o RBS sent this: The Final Leaked TPP Text is All That We Feared o o o Anthony Wile: Let’s Get This Show on the Road (The Daily Bell) Items from The Economics Team: FOMC Minutes Confirm Economy Not Ready For Rate-Hike This Year, Worried About Inflation, “Global Risk” It’s Time For Negative Rates, Fed’s Kocherlakota Hints


Odds ‘n Sods:

At the WRSA site: Claire Wolfe: Come And Take Them. Start Here o o o Documenting Katrina o o o G.G. flagged this: EPA spends millions on military-style weapons, watchdog group reports o o o Over at Lew Rockwell’s site: The Collective Failure of Gun-Free Zones o o o KAF sent us this: Woman uses medieval combat training, sword to stop intruder




Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Cold Steel’s Survival Edge

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For many years, I’ve looked that the Cold Steel web site as well as their printed catalogs, and saw among their fixed blade knifes a survival-type knife, with a hollow handle – called the “Survival Edge” and I just didn’t understand why it was in the line-up. To my mind, it just looked like a “cheap” hollow handle survival knife – one that doesn’t really belong in the Cold Steel line of fantastic knives. Lynn Thompson (Cold Steel’s owner) and I have been friends since the early 1900s and if there is one thing we have learned about each is …


Letter Re: Choosing a Partner for a Lifetime of Preparedness

Dear Editor: I have a response to Choosing a Partner for a Lifetime of Preparedness (A Cautionary Tale), by Bob C. from Oct. 9, 2015. H is article brings out the idea that beauty is way more than skin deep, an idea that I totally agree with and often share with young people. My husband and I are in the ministry and we often deal with teens who have not been taught the value of selecting a mate based on other qualities besides physical attraction. So, I think I understand the author’s point. I would just like to comment that …


Recipe of the Week: Cajun-Style Pork Stew, by Jackie W.

Here is a fairly simple-to-prepare Cajun-style pork stew: Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds fresh cubed pork 4 carrots 2 onions 2 ribs celery 3 to 4 potatoes (optional) Red pepper flakes, to taste Boil meat about 20 minutes in a pot on stove. Put chopped celery, carrots, onions and potatoes in a 5-quart Dutch oven. Put meat on top of vegetables. Pour in 1 cup of liquid from boiling meat. Put covered Dutch oven in oven and cook at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check to see if the vegetables are done. Put 2 tablespoons of oil …


Letter: A Filing Methods For Digital Libraries

Dear Editor: This e-mail is offered as an addition to other discussions in SurvivalBlog of this subject, such as, Preserving a Digital Library. Having messed around with computers since the early 1970s and, having lived through multiple computers on multiple versions of operating systems, I settled on a simple filing system for digital content that I save. As an engineer, I love to invent things but I don’t like reinventing wheels when there are so many about that can be used for my purposes. My filing system is exactly that – a re-purposing of an existing filing system invented in …


Economics and Investing:

Video is now available from the recent Mises Institute’s seminars on Political Correctness. o o o House votes to lift 40-year-old ban on US crude oil exports o o o Items from The Economics Team: Pimco Placing Its Bets: Emerging Market Currencies Set for Further Losses U.S. Consumer Confidence Flat in September (Gallup)


Odds ‘n Sods:

Science Daily: Solar activity predicted to fall 60% in 2030s, to ‘mini ice age’ levels: Sun driven by double dynamo. (Thanks to Andre for the link.) o o o Another great read over at Thoughts From Frank and Fern: Stark Reality o o o Do citizens with guns ever stop mass shootings? o o o Chris Walsh of Revolutionary Realty has posted a good background article at his site, titled: Southern Exposure…or not?



Notes for Sunday – October 11, 2015

Today we present a guest article by Patrice Lewis. She is an energetic rancher, gardener, and writer who is simultaneously active in several venues. These include: Her own Rural Revolution homesteading blog, essays for WorldNetDaily, articles for Backwoods Home magazine, and articles for the newly-launched Molly Green magazine. Patrice is one of my favorite bloggers, who truly “lives the life” of rural self-sufficiency.


The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities, by Patrice Lewis

A common concern among rural people in a grid-down situation is the concept of marauding urbanites swarming through the countryside looting and pillaging — the so-called Golden Horde. I addressed this issue on my blog a few months ago when a reader noted, “You can hide yourself, but not your garden. Are you going to take your beef herd into your house with you? In any long-term crisis situation, your cattle and garden will be indefensible and therefore gone in a matter of months. You cannot protect them from a determined large, armed group.” This reader respectfully listed what he …