Category: Current Events & Politics

Lessons Of Real Life Bug-Out Circa 1944, by Grazu44

As long as I can remember, my father was prepared for the unexpected. I thought it was because he purchased a series of unreliable Chrysler products in the 70’s and 80’s that consistently broke down. (MOPAR– the name of Chrysler’s Parts Division– became an acronym in our house for “Moments Of Power Are Rare”). The fact of the matter was that my father “bugged out” of his native Lithuania with his family at the age of 14. Following World War II, he and his family were placed in a Displaced Persons (DP) camp for native Lithuanians in what would become …


The Efficacy of Gun Control, by B.W.

Plato purportedly said, “Only the dead have seen the end of war,” and in many ways he was correct. Violence has been a constant throughout recorded history, and it continues to plague humanity. In fact, perhaps the only significant change is our growing expertise and efficiency. The invention of the firearm in 13th century China marked a turning point in state-sponsored warfare and interpersonal violence. Black powder in conjunction with a simple machine and projectile enabled the relatively unskilled and weaker combatant to create parity with a group who possessed superior strength. For better or worse, politics had irrevocably changed. …


Remember Who You Should Fear- Part 1, by Sarah Latimer

Not long ago I attended a large, women’s conference for Bible believers with a diverse set of denominational, cultural, and social backgrounds. There, I heard a consistent undercurrent from the attendees as they spoke among themselves on end times, evil, uncertainty, failing economics, Islam, terrorism, failing education, and especially on politics. I’d identify their general focus by summing it up in a word– fear. Little was said about faith, hope, and confidence, though God was mentioned from time to time in the conversations I overheard. There was less joy apparent among believers in attendance than I can recall from any …


Crises Preparation- Part 2, by B1

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Home Security Your home should appear shabby, as if you are poor or struggling. (Think of a “redneck trailer park”; no offense is intended.) People living in urban areas will be at a much higher risk for criminal activity. If you look organized and secure, you will be a target for theft, looting, et cetera. You don’t want to directly or indirectly advertise your stockpile or your plan to anyone outside your trusted circle. When you’re doing your shopping for supplies, do it at night. Neighbors see more than you think. When you store (hide) your stockpile, do it in …


Letter Re: The Sole Purpose of the 2nd Amendment

Hugh, What Prepper Jane said in this piece, I’ve been trying to tell my more brainwashed, left-leaning acquaintances for years; both symbolically and practically, rescinding our right to bear arms would open the gates for the rest of our rights to be either abridged or eliminated completely. It would also make it easy for TPTB to label those who didn’t “go along with the program” as “outlaws”, “domestic terrorists”, and “enemies of the state”. If our public indoctrination centers (…er… schools) had been teaching fact over the years, this would be a hard sell. Alas, instead of reading and learning …


The Sole Purpose of the 2nd Amendment, by Plain Jane Prepper

Unless you have had your head in the sand for the last few months, you know that 2016 is an election year, and this is perhaps the most competitive and heated election we have experienced in many years. Like him or not, it seems apparent to me and many others that President Obama has ignited some of the most divisive rhetoric and heated political arguments in recent history. One thing Americans have always seemed to do is accept each others’ differences. However, a major rift in ideals has been exposed (and perpetuated), the likes of which I have not seen …


The Statists’ Dream List: Systematically Destroying Our Freedom of Speech

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Although much of the focus in Constitutionalist circles is rightfully on combating threats to the Second Amendment, there is an equally important issue: Our First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, religion, to peaceably assemble, and assuring our right to petition for redress of grievances. These rights are in peril.  Gradually, the United States is devolving into a quasi-Police State. One goal of the statists/collectivists is to marginalize and muzzle independent journalists. In this essay, I will outline some of the methods that could provide multiple gains for the statists: to control the press, to steer mass media content in a …


Letter Re: Situational Awareness and Profiling

JWR & Group, I have more of a question than a comment. I believe myself to be very situationally aware. I make conscience efforts to practice this necessary skill by watching people and thinking through what I see. I consider situational awareness to be both in your immediate environment and the extending. If a new neighbor moves in down the street that is part of my awareness. If my 90 year old neighbor doesn’t take out her trash I notice. These are the subtle changes to my environment that I track. When I am at the mall and I notice …


March in Precious Metals by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. What Did Gold Do in March? Gold had a bit of a roller coaster ride in March. Prices surged after the Fed did not raise benchmark interest rates at its March 16th policy meeting. Later in the month, a series of very hawkish speeches by five Federal Reserve regional presidents pushed gold down from its …


Letter Re: Prepper Auctions

HJL, In my 26 years as an auctioneer I have conducted over five of these type auctions. Three were defaulted storage auctions. Normally, we don’t know what we have until the door is opened. The first one that I remember was around 1993. It was a 10 X 20 unit. In it were three crossbows, boxes of climbing gear for mountain climbing (crampons, pitons, ropes, and harnesses), first aid kits with blood expander, packs and pack frames, firearms, various brands of dehydrated food, small cook stoves, and so forth. The next one I remember was a 5 X 10 heated …


Letter Re: TATP

JWR, Regarding the Brussels terrorist incident: While I don’t doubt that TATP was used, something is wrong with this! TATP is an “entrophic”; I believe that is the word, a reaction. There was lots of gas but no heat or fire. The Brussels explosions show fires in several areas. Something else must have been used in conjunction with TATP. The question is what and how did “something else” get past the sensors, dogs, et cetera? As a retired deputy, I still have several law enforcement contacts. Several months ago I was talking with one. He mentioned they were being trained/briefed/educated …


Lessons Learned at a Prepper Auction, by LCA in WNY

Last weekend, my spouse and I attended a very interesting auction. The auction was advertised as “Apocalypse Prepper Estate Auction.” It listed a large gun collection, large quantity of ammo, tools, household items, and four vehicles. The advertisement caught my eye, so off we went. We arrived in time to preview some of the items. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I stood there thinking it seemed as if he had used SurvivalBlog.com as a checklist. He had purchased every item ever mentioned in this blog. Then, I had to chuckle as I spotted a table with a dozen …


Letter Re: Cashless Society

Dear Editor, The move to a cashless society appears to be on track, but some will resist the final withdrawal of paper and coin money from circulation… unless they have a compelling reason to voluntarily give it up. I’ve thought for years that the only thing needed to cause people to shun cash is a report of a pathogen that rides from person to person on cash. All we need is a report from the CDC, which doesn’t even have to be true, that they are investigating some cases of hepatitis infection where cash was the vector. The cashless infrastructure …


The World Through Pink-Colored Glasses: Wikipedia’s Leftist Editorial Distortions

Wikipedia, launched in 2001, now has more than 39 million articles. It is now informally used by millions of students as a reference by students and journalists—usually as the starting point for researching nearly any topic. Wikipedia’s entries are given great weight by search engines, such as Google, placing their articles at the top of search rankings. In the 21st Century Internet age, one can safely say: All Roads Lead to Wikipedia. Most SurvivalBlog readers have noticed that I refer to Wikipedia as LeftistAgendapedia. I do so for good reason, as a I will explain in this essay. Because it …


A Random Walk Through The Risks of Silicon Valley, by Epaminondas

As a technology executive who has worked extensively with most of the big, high-tech firms (Microsoft, Google, Verizon, Dell, Qualcomm, and more), I thought that it could be helpful to share a perspective on the general role of technology on prepper thinking and planning. This readership is much more sophisticated than most, but the hard fact is that most of us cannot live an independent, off-grid lifestyle for a variety of reasons. Technology is the great enabler and force multiplier that can make it much easier to work remotely, maintain close contact with family and friends while benefiting from the …