Category: Note

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6th, 1911. He was an American politician and actor, who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Prior to his presidency, he served as the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, following a career as an actor and union leader in Hollywood. Reagan implemented sweeping new political and economic initiatives. His supply-side economic policies, dubbed “Reaganomics”, advocated tax rate reduction to spur economic growth, control of the money supply to curb inflation, economic deregulation, and reduction in government spending. In his first term he survived …

On February 5th, 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt announced his plan to expand the Supreme Court to as many as 15 judges. This unconstitutional move was in response to the hostility that the court held towards his “New Deal”, itself an unconstitutional expansion of government authority. Roosevelt was flushed with his landslide victory in 1936, so Roosevelt pressed his advantage. In April of that year, two justices conceded the high moral ground and capitulated to his demands allowing for a narrow victory on the New Deal. The reorganization was now unnecessary and in July the Senate struck it down, but the …

This is the birthday of writer James Michener (1907–1997), known for his very well-researched epic novels, such as Centennial. This is also the birthday of painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894–1978.) o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 75 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 Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for …

February 2nd is the birthday of Ayn Rand (born Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum in 1905), died – March 6, 1982) She is of course remembered for her novel Atlas Shrugged, which is considered a Libertarian classic. While I sharply disagree with her views on religion (since she was an atheist), I admire both her skill as a writer and her ability to articulate some core precepts of human liberty. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 75 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A …

February 1st is the anniversary of the secession of Texas from the United States in 1861. A State Convention considering secession opened in Austin on January 28th, 1861 and on February 1st, by a vote of 166-8, adopted an Ordinance of Secession from the United States. It’s important to note that not all Texans favored this act and the state Governor, Sam Houston, while being loyal to the union, refused offers from President Lincoln to keep him in office and was subsequently deposed as governor. We also remember February 1st, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and …

January 30th is the birthday of historian Barbara Tuchman (born 1912, died February 6, 1989). She wrote some of the most engaging history books JWR ever read. January 30th is also the anniversary of the 1945 Great Raid on Cabanatuan Prison Camp where US Army Rangers and Filipino Guerrillas liberated Allied prisoners. See Rescue At Los Baños, by historian and bestselling author Bruce Henderson. o o o I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers take a look at the YouTube channel run by an earthquake tracker, who posts under the name Dutchsinse. In the past, most of the folks who have tried …

Today is the birthday of journalist and inventor Thomas Paine (1737–1809). This is also the birthday of actor Tom Selleck (born 1945), best known for playing the title role of Magnum, P.I. He once dropped by my tables at the Reno gun show, and we had a great conversation. He is an avid shooter and quite pro-gun. – JWR

January 28th is the anniversary of the rescue of General James L. Dozier from his Italian Red Brigades kidnappers. Tangentially, Colonel Jeff Cooper created a shooting drill in honor of those who freed him– The Dozier Drill.

January 27th is commemorated at International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Never again! o o o This is also the birthday of the late Helen Chenoweth (born, 1938, died October 2, 2006). She was a controversial Republican congresswoman from Orofino, Idaho. o o o As most SurvivalBlog readers are aware, we recently published the autobiography of Rynier Kruger, a Christian missionary in northern Thailand. It is titled: My Thailand Calling. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 74 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift …

January 26th, 1945 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Army. Established in 1941 Auschwitz was composed of a group of three large and 40 smaller camps used for slave labor, unethical medical experiments and monstrous killing grounds where prisoners were gassed and cremated. As the Soviets headed for Auschwitz, the German Gestapo began a murder spree and began destroying the facility in an attempt to hide the evidence of their crimes. When the Soviets arrived, the encountered 648 corpses and more than 7000 starving camp survivors along with storehouses filled with hundreds of thousands of …

On January 25th, 1995, the world was minutes from nuclear annihilation. Russia’s early-warning defense radar detected an unexpected missile launch near Norway and calculated that they only had minutes before impact on Moscow. Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the defense minister, and the chief of staff were informed of the missile launch and the nuclear command systems were switched to combat mode and the nuclear suitcases were activated for the first time in the history of the Soviet-made system. Five minutes after launch Russian command determined that the missile’s impact point would be outside Russia’s borders and three minutes after that …

January 24 is the birthday of Tamara K., the editor of the View From The Porch blog. This is also the birthday of René Barjavel (born 1911, died November 24, 1985). This prescient French science fiction author wrote several books with survivalist themes, including Ravage, which was titled Ashes, Ashes in its English translation. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 74 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. …

January 23rd is the birthday of John Moses Browning, born 1855. He was the brilliant designer of dozens of guns, including the M1911 pistol, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), and the venerable M2 .50 Caliber Machinegun. The latter is still in service in at least 95 countries, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is still in service in 2075 or even 2100.