Recipe of the Week:

Mama June’s Amish Brown Sugar Pie I have been making this pie for holidays since I was 14 years old. It’s inexpensive. easy and tasty. It’s from an old Amish recipe, brown sugar pie, and sets up rather like a caramel custard. The bonus here is the pie crust recipe, which is flaky and delicious and eliminates rolling! the Amish cookbook called it a “pat-in-pan” crust. Add a little garlic salt and flax or wheat germ and it’s the perfect crust for quiche! (My preferred way to use up our eggs.) 2 cups flour, white or wheat, more as needed …


Economics and Investing:

Washington state bank closes; first failure of 2013 H.G. flagged this: New data show 1 in 4 children on food stamps in FY 2011 Greeks Raid Forests in Search of Wood to Heat Homes. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Powerful “Indicators” Suggest A Stock Market Sell-Off And Inflation Could Be Just Around The Corner Beware The Bond Bubble In 2013 US May Default On Its Debt A Half-Month Earlier Than Expected, New Analysis Shows


Odds ‘n Sods:

An interesting new food grade container: Jolly Tank. Needless to say, it is not DOT-approved for carrying fuel in a vehicle, and of course such containers should be discarded after use to carry anything toxic or biohazardous. But I can see umpteen potential uses.    o o o California legislator plans to further tighten the screws on gun owners: New ammunition purchase regulations. See also: California testing limits of gun-control rules in wake of Newtown shooting.    o o o Biden Hints at Outlawing Unregulated Gun Sales. Of course there is NO FEDERAL JURISDICTION for private party intrastate sales of …



Notes from JWR:

Colorado alert: 14 to 20 New Anti-Gun Bills at the State Capitol. (“A ban on an undetermined number of semi-automatic firearms (No grandfather clause) A ban on magazines of over ten rounds (No grandfather clause) A ban on private sales by requiring universal background checks. A waiting period on background checks that will kill gun shows…”) — Today we present another entry for Round 44 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will …


The Calling of the Christian Prepper: Faith and Survival, by Axgrinder

This article will have little effect on the scoffer, whether a survivalist or not, but is directed toward the Christian who is also conscious of the value of preparation and the duty to provide for family in survival circumstances. It may also be effective for the mind a person who knows little of God but is open to investigate His existence. It is what God has laid on my heart as I read through the great articles and letters here in this forum. Keep up the good work. What I sense though, myself included, is that we, as humans, sometimes …


Letter Re: A Few AR-15 Full Capacity Magazines Found Available

Sir: I noticed yesterday that one of your readers (and I’m assuming many others) are looking for AR-15 magazines. While I haven’t yet tested the Israeli E-Lander magazines personally (I have six of them on order), the reviews seemed positive albeit the magazines are slightly heavy compared to a PMAG. Beggars can’t be choosers in this [current political and market] environment. A few people noted they were not fitting in MEGA lower receiver magazine wells, and were very tight in some other receivers, however the majority of users had no issues. I believe the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) use these …


Economics and Investing:

An excellent piece by Dr. Gary North that gets to the heart of the preparedness mindset, even when disasters are personal rather than national: Budgeting for a Lifestyle Contraction Anthony Wile of The Daily Bell: The Trillion Dollar Coin Is a Great Idea! Items from The Economatrix: The Economic Implosion Of Europe Is Accelerating Economic Forecaster:  US Has Gone Over The “Demographic Cliff.”  Market Crash Will Start In Summer “Dr. Doom” Faber Sees A Possible 10% Gold Correction


Odds ‘n Sods:

Large Cities All Over America Are Degenerating Into Gang-Infested War Zones. Meanwhile we read this madness: Connecticut Democrat state senator Edward Meyer pushed for Barney Fife Law. That eastern Nanny State idiocy is balanced by this news story from Texas: HPD: Witnesses shoot robbery suspect. Be sure to watch the video. Kudos to the vigilante Texas dog, too.    o o o Safecastle has announced a big “The Food Abides” sale. Check out their selection and prices. Included in this sale are: Yoder’s meats, a dairy variety pack and cases of bacon, cheese, butter and ghee.    o o o …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, [saying], Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” – Mark 1:9-11 (KJV)


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 44 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any …


The Case for the Bitcoin Cryptocurrency, by J. McG.

A major theorem of cryptography is that anything that be done with a trusted authority can be done without1 a trusted authority.  This theorem can be applied to currencies, too. Anything that can be done by a central bank can be done without a central bank .  The central bank for the United States of America, as you probably already know, is the US Federal Reserve.  The stated dual mandate of the US Federal Reserve System is:   “The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee shall maintain long run growth of the …


Economics and Investing:

Real estate horror continues with ‘zombie foreclosures’ Peter Schiff: ‘The Dollar Is Not The King Of Anything, Except Maybe Depreciation Zero Hedge reports of the bigger, deeper crater that once was Greece: Greek Unemployment Soars To New Record, 56.6% Of 15-24 Year Olds Without Job Items from The Economatrix: Highest Ever One-Day Sales For American Silver Eagles? BofA Freezes Gun Manufacturer’s Account Cracking The 2013 Tax Code


Odds ‘n Sods:

Steve H. wrote to report: Now they’re coming for our wood burning stoves: Reduction in Air Pollution from Wood Stoves Associated With Significantly Reduced Risk of Death    o o o File under Preposterous Pedantry: Make guns smart. While you are at it “Jeremy”, why don’t you petition Microsoft to add a sanity checker to supplement their existing spell checker so that their software can’t be used to create crazy editorials. (OBTW, I always thought is was priceless that Microsoft Word’s spell checker thought “Schumer” was a typo, and suggested “Schemer” as the correction. Touché.)    o o o Egg …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up [that which is] planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain …