Category: Note

March 7, 1944 was the birthday of Townes Van Zandt, a gifted Texan singer/songwriter. (He died in 1997.) March 7, 1707 was the birthday of Stephen Hopkins, (Governor of Rhode Island) one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. March 7, 1925 was the birthday of Rene Gagnon, a U.S. Marine, who was seen in the famous photographs of the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. (He died in 1979.) — Today we present a short but heavily-illustrated guest article by reader P.R., titled Observations on City Life in Brazil. It was too short to meet the 1,500-word minimum …

March 6th was the birthday of Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr., born in 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. This U.S. Air Force pilot and astronaut was aboard Mercury 9 and Gemini 5. Cooper had his exploits well documented in Tom Wolfe’s book The Right Stuff, and in the well-done film of the same name. Cooper died at age 77 from heart failure at his home in Ventura, California, October 4, 2004. Coincidentally, this is also the birthday of Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937), a Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space, aboard Vostok 6. She was born in Maslennikovo, USSR. — …

We are sad to report the death of actor Luke Perry, on Monday, following a massive stroke a few days earlier. He starred in the quasi-survivalist television series titled Jeremiah. Season 2 of the series is available free for Amazon Prime members. For Season 1, you have to pay. On Hulu, both Season 1 and Season 2 are included with a Hulu subscription. Here’s a description of the series from IMDB: “In a post-apocalyptic future, a deadly virus has wiped out most of humanity. The only ones who survived, were those who hadn’t yet reached puberty. Now, a decade has …

Today is the birthday of James Ellroy (b. 1948), an American noir novelist. He authored L.A. Confidential, which later became a popular film. — I was just told that the family that is handing fulfillment of orders for our latest 16GB waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks has fully caught up on mailing out orders. So if you order soon, your package should be mailed out within the next two to three working days. Note that there is up to a 2-week delay for orders paid by check. We started out with 1,500 sticks in mid-January. We now have less than …

This is the birthday of libertarian economist Murray Rothbard (born 1926, died 1995) His book For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto is highly recommended. Today is also the birthday of Moe Berg, American baseball player and clandestine agent. (He died in 1972). His biography The Catcher Was a Spy is fascinating reading. And on March 2nd, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Today is coincidentally also the birthday of Sam Houston. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round …

Today is the birthday of the late singer, songwriter, and cowboy poet Allen Wayne Damron. Damron was quite the Texan, through and through. (Born 1939, died August 13, 2005, in Terlingua, Texas.) — The gun legislation news wasn’t all bad this week… First, the bad news: The U.S. House passed both H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112. Please try you best to stop their Senate equivalents. The good news: Oklahoma legislature passed a permitless carry bill, the Oklahoma Governor immediately signed it. The new law recognized the right of people over 21 years old to carry a concealed firearm without any …

February 28th is the birthday of famed Swiss investor and economic pundit Marc Faber (born 1946). — Update, Thursday mid-day: H.R. 8 passed in the House today with just one very minor amendment, clarifying some wording. Please call your Senators, and urge them to stop the Senate version of the bill (S.42)! SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened …

Warning: The truncated debate and immediate floor vote on H.R. 8 is expected to be held today!  The parliamentary gymnastics that were employed in the Rules Committee were astounding. To call this bill “ramrodded” by Speaker Pelosi is putting it mildly!  She has cleverly scheduled the committee testimony of Michael Cohen for the same day, to distract attention away from the H.R. 8 debate. The severe limits on amendments and debate on a measure of this gravity are absurd. Please contact your congressmember ASAP and ask them to do everything that they can to stop it, including stalling tactics and …

Today  is the birthday of Major-General Orde Charles Wingate (born, 1903, died 24 March 1944), an eccentric British Army officer who organized special military units in Palestine in the 1930s, and in Abyssinia, Sudan, and Burma during World War II. He is most famous for his creation of the Chindits, airborne deep-penetration troops trained to work behind enemy lines in the Far East campaigns against the Japanese during World War II. — Seed for Security–one of our most loyal advertisers–is having a noteworthy sale: They are offering their Colossal Security Pack at 15% off. This pack has a total of …

February 25th is the birthday of the late bluegrass music legend Ralph Stanley (1927 – 2016). His harmonizing and high tenor solos had an almost haunting sound.

On February 24, 1970 an avalanche took the lives of 29 Swiss army officers in Reckingen, Switzerland. — A reminder: We are seeking non-fiction articles for the SurvivalBlog Writing Contest. There is still just over one month remaining in the current round. With more than $850,000 worth of prizes awarded since 2005, the contest has tangible rewards for the most informative writers! More than $10,000 worth of prizes will be distributed to the top three prize winners, in the current round. Get busy writing! Share what you’ve learned, and we all win. Thanks. — Today we present a guest article by …

I’ll start off today with some sad news:  W.E.B. Griffin, Army Veteran and Prolific Military Novelist, Dead at Age 89. — Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836). February 23rd is also the birthday of Captain Isaac Davis (February 23, 1745 – April 19, 1775), a militia officer and gunsmith who commanded a Minute Company in Acton, Massachusetts during the Battle of Concord. — Today we present a guest article by Gary Christenson.

On this day in 1732, George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the second son from the second marriage of a colonial plantation owner. An initially loyal British subject, Washington eventually led the Continental Army in the American Revolution and became known as the father of the United States. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar …

February 21st is the birthday of Group Captain Douglas Bader (born 1910, died 5 September 1982). He was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter ace during the Second World War. He lost his legs in a pre-war flying accident, but that didn’t stop him from re-entering the RAF when war broke out. He was credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable, and 11 enemy aircraft damaged. Bader was eventually shot down and became a POW in Germany. Bader’s autobiography Reach for the Sky is a must for those studying aviation in World War II. …