Being Anonymous, by Spotlight

I walked out onto the driveway to greet my wife as she backed the car in, arriving home from a long day at work. Right away, I noticed a magnet on the back of the car, proclaiming us to be members of our church, complete with our town name. “What’s up with that?” I said, looking at the magnet, as she got out of the car. She laughed and said the pastor of our church had put it on there when he saw her in the parking lot. I think she had laughed because she knew what I was going …




Letter: Preview of Anti-Gun Agendas

Good morning: By now, it has become clear that the gloves are off and the anti-gun establishment has openly stated that it intends to take guns and gun rights. President Obama’s spokespeople have stated that he is considering executive action when he gets back from vacation in January. This sounds kind of mysterious, but if you want to know what to expect, you need look no farther than what is going on in Virginia just outside the nation’s capital. I awoke this morning to learn that Virginia has moved to phase two of its anti-gun tyranny. In phase one Governor …




Normalcy Bias, by KR in TN

Most people I know enjoy a little adventure. While it may not be sky diving, even the more reserved, quiet spirits appreciate a change of pace. Some get their kicks from visiting the mouse at his Magic Kingdom, while others get it from a morning in the tree stand or an afternoon under the hood. Regardless of what they do, folks like to break up the monotony of the daily grind. Doing the same ole’ same ole’ gets old, but the day to day life we live is what we’ve come to expect. Yesterday was the same as the day …




Letter: Federal Watch Lists

Good afternoon Hugh/JWR, With the recent fervor arising over federal lists (airline travel, passport revocations, gun purchases, et cetera), I thought I would share a short story with the readership… I am a professional pilot for a U.S. airline. I began flying in the 1980’s and have been feeding my family with my airman certificate for thirty years. Obviously, pilots are subject to rigorous background checks (more so since 9/11), but screening was in place in the 80’s when I began flying. In 2008 I received a letter from the Airport Police Office that has jurisdiction at the airport I …




Guest Article: Five Intelligence Essentials for Preparedness and Community Security, by Samuel Culper

Intelligence is a poorly covered topic in our the preparedness community, largely because there just aren’t enough former intel guys willing to teach on the topic. Although the work of intelligence can consume your life while preparing for SHTF, there are several small things you can do today in order to become more prepared. If you’re spending hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars on things but aren’t studying the threats in your area, then there’s a good chance that you will suffer from strategic shock; in other words, you may be exploited in a way that you hadn’t …




The Myth of The Gun Show Loophole: The Statist Perversion of Our Language Continues

I’ve mentioned this before in SurvivalBlog, but recent events make this worth repeating: The statist gun grabbers drone on and on about a “gun show loophole” as if it were some ground truth, just like saying a phrase like “humans are mortal.” But just what is this “loophole” they are talking about? It is in fact perfectly legal commerce between private citizens of the same state. This is not a “loophole”. Rather, it is merely the exercise of free trade in used household goods between sovereign citizens within their own states. Gun shows are a time-honored tradition in free exercise …




Letter Re: Captain America Is Coming For You!, by N.E.

HJL, In his letter, N.E. refers to the fictional “Sons of the Serpents” from Marvel comics as right wing conservatives and puts the term “evil” in quotes as though they are not actually evil. They are clearly written in the comics as white supremacists. Let’s not help the Left blur that line any further. – Z.A. HJL Responds: Another SurvivalBlog reader sent in a link that actually responds to this statement rather well. While Marvel indoctrinates our children by linking conservatives to hate groups, this article asks some hard hitting questions like these: Where are Captain America’s missions with Joint …




Fighting Words: An Open Letter to Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

The New York Times just published the newspaper’s first front page editorial in 95 years. It urged America’s legislators to outlaw civilian ownership of semiautomatic battle rifles. This editorial twisted words to castigate our militia arms as follows: ” These are weapons of war, barely modified and deliberately marketed as tools of macho vigilantism and even insurrection.” The editor went on to urge: ” Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership. It is possible to define those guns in a clear and effective …




Observations on the December 2nd California Terror Attack

The tragic events yesterday in California’s Inland Empire deserve attention. I’ll just stick to the facts: The primary shooter, Sayeed Rizwan Farook, age 28, was American-born to parents who were from Karachi, Pakistan, and was described as “a very devout Muslim”. He recently traveled to Saudi Arabia. According to The Daily Mail, “Farook graduated from California State University, San Bernardino with a degree in environmental health in 2009.” The second shooter killed in the shootout was Farook’s wife Tashfeen Malik, a pharmacist, age 27, born in Pakistan but more recently a resident of Saudi Arabia, who had married Farook two …




Letter: Hoarding Silver, Gold and Diamonds

Hugh, I remember when I was young and would sit for hours listening to the depression stories that the old people would tell. One thing that stuck in my mind was that the only time that precious metals or stones were worth much was during times of plenty when you could buy products with them. I watched my grandfather open his safe from time to time, and he would show me the gold and diamonds he had in it from years ago. Seems that when urban dwellers who were rich ran out of food, they would come to trade and …




Captain America Is Coming For You!, by N.E.

I found a news article this morning that to the untrained eye seems harmless. However, as I have studied narratives of geopolitics, I felt compelled to send along a note to the reader’s of SurvivalBlog. The comic book character “Captain America” was first released with the goal to influence popular culture of the American youth just prior to World War II to establish a national identity against Nazi Germany. The cover of the first issue of the comic displayed Captain American punching Hilter in the mouth. Why you should be interested in Captain America and his original battle with Nazi …




Feeding The Vulnerable At TEOTWAWKI: Infant Nutrition- Part 1, by P.G.

In the event of an EMP or other worst-case scenario, it is feared that as many as 90 percent of the population will not survive. The elderly and the ill, who are dependent on soon-to-be nonexistent medicines, will be the first to succumb. Another extremely vulnerable group consists of infants in the first year of life. They are toothless, wholly dependent on adult providers, and limited to breastmilk or infant formula for the first few months of life. Babies do not have the immunologic capacity to defend themselves against the myriad of microbes that will arise in an environment that …




Six Prepping Principles Derived from One Year as an Expat- Part 1, by G.L.

About a year and a half ago, my company offered an expatriate assignment for a period of between two and three years. For those who don’t know, an expatriate assignment is where an employee and his or her family is relocated to another country (from now on referred to as the “assignment country”). In large corporations, this generally includes certain benefits to make the transition easier and “worth it” to the employee. For our family, this news came at a great time from a career point of view and for the age or our kids and what an international move …




Letter: Who Runs the Political Process?

Good Morning Hugh, The world is filled with interesting news today. It’s interesting because even The New York Times– one of the mouthpieces of the establishment– is pointing out the fallacy of our “democracy”, by the fact that almost half the presidential campaign money comes from only 158 families. Here is a quote from the article: “The pluralist stance of American politics contends that true power in the United States has been constitutionally vested in “the people” through mechanisms like the electoral process, freedom of speech, and the ability to establish political parties. The traditional view is that these aspects …




Masters of Deceit, by Enola Gay

With every social program that is enacted, every attempt at a re-distribution of wealth by our political “leaders” we are shamed into reluctant submission by our vague notions of Christian charity. We have been raised to “feed the hungry” and “clothe the naked” and “provide a home for the homeless”. Politicians and religious leaders, who have made social justice their god, quote scriptures to us, validating their own agenda; “He who shuts his ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in his own time of need” (Proverbs 21:13), “If you give to the poor, your needs will …