Category: Note

On September 9, 1492, Columbus’ fleet set sail west. The rest, you know as history, or is that revisionist history. o o o On a sad note, SurvivalBlog received word today that one of our favorite Science Fiction authors passed away. Jerry Pournelle had many novels published under his own name and with the collaboration of others like Larry Niven, John F. Carr, Steven Barnes and Michael Flynn and more. He is also credited with having the first and longest-running blog on the Internet–long before it got the name “blogging.” One item that will probably be overlooked in the obituaries …

On September 8, 1565, the first permanent settlement in what would become the United States of America was formed. (St Augustine, Florida) Also, in 1943, on this day, Italy surrendered to the Allies in World War II.

Today is the birthday of Dr. Ludwig Vorgrimler (born 1912 in Freiburg, Germany; died 1983). Vorgrimler was the designer of the Spanish CETME rifle, from which sprang a plethora of roller-lock descendants from HK, including the G3, HK21, and MP5. His bolt design was also copied by the Swiss for their excellent PE57 and SIG 510 rifles. (Although the Swiss felt obliged to mount a “beer keg” charging handle on the right side of the receiver, for the sake of familiarity to Schmidt-Rubin shooters.) o o o Solar Flare Sunspot AR2673 unleashed a major X9.3-class solar flare (the strongest solar …

September 6th, 1757 is the birthday of Marquis de Lafayette (often known simply as Lafayette), a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was a close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson. George Washington met him through his connections in the Free Masons and was impressed with him. After he offered to serve without pay, Congress commissioned him as a Major General and he was an integral part of the battle at Brandywine. He also endured the hardships with George Washington when encamped at Valley Forge.

On September 5, 1774, fed up with the meddling of the crown and being mostly independent-minded, our nation’s founding fathers met together in the First Continental Congress, in Philadelphia, laying the foundation of what would become the world’s greatest nation. o o o From Pat Cascio, SurvivalBlog’s Senior Product Review Editor: It is with the heaviest of sad hearts, that I have to report the passing of a true Warrior over the weekend. Eugene Sockut in Israel fought the good fight, until the end. As you may know, Gene and I had been friends for 25 years, and he was …

September 4, 1862 is the fateful day that General Lee invaded the North with 50,000 troops. Historians will banter back and forth about the real reasons for the civil war, but we will probably never fully understand. It is my personal belief that General Lee was gambling on a quick offensive because the South did not have the resources for a prolonged war. Whatever the case was, President Abraham Lincoln trampled the Constitution and created the foundation for the “Big Brother” government we have today.

On September 3, 1752, Great Britain and it’s colonies, including the future United States of America officially adopted the Gregorian calendar, and it immediately became September the 14th. o o o President Trump has called for today, September 3, 2017 to be a day of prayer for those who have been affected by hurricane Harvey and for the healing of our country and the world. It’s been a while since a president has actually called for a day of prayer.

September 2, 1969 is the day that the first automatic teller machine (ATM) made its first public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York. While being as indispensable to most people as cell phones and e-mail, they have introduced a whole new set of issues. Consumers are faced with scams, skimmers, and robbers, and even fake ATMs have been discovered.

September is Kilted to Kick Cancer Month. It was a wise move, not picking January. (Brrrr!) September is also National Preparedness Month.

August 31st, 1992 is the day that Randy Weaver surrendered to the Federal Authorities, ending the 10 day siege on Ruby Ridge. This is the incident that preceded the Waco siege and is known for the unconstitutional rules of engagement and overzealous actions by the jack booted thugs of the federal authorities that resulted in the death of two innocent people– Sammy and Vicki Weaver, Randy’s son and wife. It is notable that Randy was acquitted of all charges except missing a court date and violating bail conditions on an ATF sting operation where it is suspected that Mr. Weaver …

August 30, 2014 is the 95th birthday of Joachim Rønneberg, a hero of the Norwegian resistance during World War II. His exploits earned him the War Cross Wtth Sword, Norway’s highest military honor. In April 2013, Rønneberg was presented with a Union Jack during a ceremony at the Special Operations Executive (SOE) monument in London to mark 70 years since the successful Gunnerside heavy water plant sabotage mission.

Please continue to pray for everyone in Texas and Louisiana that are being pummeled by massive rains from tropical storm Harvey. It has been predicted that some folks will be stranded in their homes for many weeks because of flood damage to roads and bridges. This certainly brings the importance of food storage and water filtration into focus! August 29th is a mournful day, as we remember the anniversary of the death of “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” – …

August 28, 1883 is the anniversary of the abolishment of slavery throughout the British Empire.

August 27, 1917 was the birthday of American gun designer Robert Hillberg, best known as the designer of the C.O.P. four-barrel derringer, Winchester’s Liberator shotguns, the graceful Whitney Wolverine, and the Wildey .44 Magnum gas-operated pistol. He died in 2012.

August 26, 526, is the official anniversary of the invention of toilet paper by the Chinese. We celebrate this, though not because of its convenience. In fact, it has many shortcomings, some which are described within the articles and letters of SurvivalBlog. Our celebration of it is primarily because we now have an official metric of just how hard core of a prepper you are as well as a metric for just how economically unstable your country is. August 26, 1946 is also the official release date of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”