Category: Emerging Threats

Masters of Deceit: The Government’s Propaganda of Fear, by John & Nisha Whitehead

“It is the function of mass agitation to exploit all the grievances, hopes, aspirations, prejudices, fears, and ideals of all the special groups that make up our society, social, religious, economic, racial, political. Stir them up. Set one against the other. Divide and conquer. That’s the way to soften up a democracy. –  J. Edgar Hoover, Masters of Deceit The U.S. government has become a master of deceit. It’s all documented, too. This is a government that lies, cheats, steals, spies, kills, maims, enslaves, breaks the laws, overreaches its authority, and abuses its power at almost every turn; treats its …


Are You Ready For Societal Winter?

Many of you reading this are ready for winter, both literally and figuratively. Your firewood is stacked and your kindling is split. Your barn is stacked full of hay. Your larder is crammed full of food. Your fuel tanks are topped off. And your home armory is “dialed-in”, with its walls comfortably stacked with ammo cans.  But some of you reading this are not nearly so well prepared. Whether by lack of resolve or lack of resources, you aren’t ready for the manifold challenges of the 21st Century. Winter is coming. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts that the winter of …


Consequences of 87,000 New IRS Employees, by Toby

I have read and watched a lot of commentary on the Inflation Reduction Act (ironically abbreviated IRA) recently signed into law. I was most interested in the $80 billion added to the IRS budget and the addition of 87,000 IRS employees — mostly agents — effectively doubling the number of IRS agents. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made the following statement: “Specifically, I direct that any additional resources – including any new personnel or auditors that are hired – shall not be used to increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to …


WIN: Whip Inflation Nonconformably

In recent months, I’ve had several consulting clients ask me about how they might protect themselves from the ravages of inflation. The official rate of inflation is now at 9.2%, but everyone knows that the real-world rate is somewhere north of 14%. I’m offering some concrete suggestions that I will relate in this essay, but first, let me digress into some history: According to the Wikipedia article about the WIN campaign: “[President Gerald] Ford had taken office in August 1974 amidst one of the worst economic crises in US history, marked by high unemployment and inflation rising to 12.3% that …


Weaponizing the Bureaucracy: Who Will Protect Us?, by John and Nisha Whitehead

“A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty.”—James Madison The IRS has stockpiled 4,500 guns and five million rounds of ammunition in recent years, including 621 shotguns, 539 long-barrel rifles and 15 submachine guns. The Veterans Administration (VA) purchased 11 million rounds of ammunition (equivalent to 2,800 rounds for each of their officers), along with camouflage uniforms, riot helmets and shields, specialized image enhancement devices and tactical lighting. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) acquired 4 million rounds of ammunition, in addition to 1,300 guns, including five submachine guns and …


Should Red States Block Federal Agencies From Operating With Impunity?, by Brandon Smith

The concept of “sanctuary cities” has long been implemented within predominantly leftist states in America. It’s not anything new. Any operations by DHS and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) within blue states to arrest and deport illegal immigrants are often met with aggressive resistance by Democrat-run city governments. Keep in mind that foreign individuals have no right under the constitution to reside in the US without first gaining citizenship. Leftists say they don’t care and are happy to welcome millions of illegals into the country with open arms in direct violation of laws protecting our borders as well as the …


A Retreat Locale Selection Criteria Update

When I launched SurvivalBlog in 2005, I summarized my criteria for selecting retreat locales in a series of articles. Soon after, I evaluated 19 western states, for their retreat potential. I later put that data in a SurvivalBlog static page: Recommended Retreat Areas. This article serves as a 2022 update to that page. Some Things Don’t Change A lot has changed in the intervening 17 years, but some ground truths and some key trends haven’t changed at all: The tendencies of governments haven’t changed. They’ve only grown a bit bolder and their tools for surveillance of the citizenry have become …


Solar Storms, EMPs, Nukes, and Cyberattacks – Part 3 by Pulse Prepper

Part 3: Cyberattacks Cyberattacks are increasing In May 2021, there was a shutdown of Colonial Pipeline, one of the largest fuel pipelines in the United States. The pipeline transports about 45% of all fuel consumed on the East Coast, including home heating oil, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The disruption caused major fuel shortages, and President Biden even declared a state of emergency. What was the cause of this crippling shutdown? A cyberattack. The attack began when a hacker group identified as DarkSide accessed the Colonial online network. The attackers stole 100 gigabytes of data within a two-hour window. Following …


Food As Currency, by SwampFox

The following is intended as an intellectual exercise. Our nation has been the victim of the slide toward globalism over the last couple of decades. We still retain our independent Dollar, but for how long? The European Union has a unified currency that is a model for the rest of the world. There have been attempts at an Asian currency as well as a North American currency, which was briefly titled the “Amero” and even heralded by a short-lived government website, back around 2007-2008. But there is one thing that unites all humans – the need to eat. My thoughts …


Update: The Big Picture — Grid Up Versus Grid Down–Oil, Soil, and Water

The following is an update to an article that I posted in SurvivalBlog back in September of 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast: — Before selecting a retreat locale, It is crucial that you decide on your own worst-case scenario. A location that is well-suited to surviving a “slow-slide” grid up scenario (a la the deflationary depression of the 1930s) might not necessarily be well suited to a grid down situations. As stated in my post on August 15, 2005, a grid down situation will likely cause a sudden onset variation of TEOTWAWKI with a concomitant mass …


Neo-Feudalism: Klaus Schwab, the WEF, and The Great Reset

The topic of this essay might seem a bit tangential to normal SurvivalBlog topics, but as I will explain, it falls into the category of “emerging threats.” Men have always sought to dominate and forcefully order the lives of others. This is part of human nature. It dates back to before the days of Noah. Early empires sought power and wealth, by conquest. Monarchies and feudalism dominated the Middle Ages in Europe, South Asia, and East Asia. Then, in a consolidation of monarchist power, colonialism was rampant from the 1550s to the 1950s. Only a few large and economically strong …


Where Are Your Red Lines?, by Domesticated Ranger

Editor’s Introductory Note: The following article is graphic, and not for the squeamish. Some folks should probably skip reading it. — It finally happened. The fecal matter has well and truly impacted the rotating air oscillation device. The Schumer Hit The Fan (SHTF) situation is well underway. Societal norms are out the window. People are struggling just to stay alive. But your garden is thriving because, after all, you are prepared. Not only is your garden growing and thriving, but you have put measures into place to help keep your garden safe. You put up a fence made off hardware …


A Sign For Our Times: “Not Engaged In The Business”

Bottom Line, Up Front (BLUF): It is time to print a “Not Engaged In The Business” notice to post at your gun show table. Joe Biden has signed a House and Senate-reconciled version of S. 2938, the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act”. This is the 80-page, ultra-fast-tracked, RINO “compromise” anti-gun rights legislation package. It passed with a 65 to 33 majority in the Senate, and the next day it sailed through the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives with a 234 to 193 majority, in just a few hours. The date of effectivity has not yet been announced. One of the lesser-known provisions …


Gold’s Shine vs. The Long Shadow of War in Ukraine, by Arkadiusz Sieroń

The war in Ukraine brings multiple negative consequences, not only to the world economy. Russia’s invasion also has a wide impact on the gold market. The Consequences Are Vast The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for more than three months. After the withdrawal from the north of Ukraine, Russia has focused on the east and south of the country, aiming to take full control of Donbas and to create a land corridor between it and Crimea. The consequences of a Russian invasion into Ukraine are far-reaching in many areas. The war is a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of people died, …


When Hunger Happens, by The Domesticated Ranger

When The Schomer Hits The Fan (WTSHTF) and food becomes very scarce, it won’t take very long before people find themselves quite literally starving. And I don’t mean “starving” the way that teenagers say it! To a teenager, they think they are starving if it’s been more than three hours since they’ve eaten a significant meal. When I refer to starvation, I mean that the body has consumed all of its stores of fat and is now consuming its own muscle mass for energy. I have been there. Back in 1995, I was a student in the US Army’s Ranger …