Category: Note

December 23rd is the birthday of Founding Father and Supreme Court Justice John Jay. (Born 1745, died May 17, 1829.) December 23rd is also the anniversary of the establishment of the exclusive private banking cartel known as The Federal Reserve, in 1913. I recommend the book The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending …

December 22nd is the anniversary of the death of SP4 James T. Davis, the first uniformed American combat casualty of the Vietnam War, in 1961. This Army Security Agency (ASA) SIGINT soldier of the 3rd Radio Research Unit was killed in a Viet Cong ambush on a road outside Saigon. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth …

On December 21, 1620, William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts. — Today marks the Winter Solstice.  We can be encouraged to know that starting tomorrow, the days will be getting longer, here in the northern hemisphere. Officially, this is the first day of winter, but the weather has been “wintery” here in our valley for more than six weeks. We now have a foot and a half of compacted snow on the ground. Yesterday we woke up to some bitter cold.  Tomorrow’s expected high temperature is -1 degree …

On December 20th, 1606, the Virginia Company loaded three ships with settlers and set sail to establish Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course …

December 19th is the birthday of physicist Albert A. Michelson (born 1852, died May 9, 1931), who was the first American to be awarded a Nobel Prize in science, for measuring the speed of light. I’m related to the Michelson family by marriage, so his name often came up when discussing family history. — On Dec 19, 1776, Thomas Paine published “American Crisis”. Paine wrote: “These are the times that try men’s souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love …

Today is the birthday of Jørgen Haagen Schmith (born December 18, 1910, died October 15, 1944). He was better known under the codename Citron and was a famous Danish resistance fighter in occupied Denmark. His biographical sketch at the Infogalactic Wiki describes his death, after he was tracked down by the Nazis: “German soldiers arrived at the house to arrest or kill Schmith. He fought for hours against an overwhelming force of enemy troops killing 11 and wounded scores of others before the house was set on fire and he was shot attempting to escape the flames.” His exploits were …

The movie Capricorn One premiered on December 17, 1978. Written and directed by Peter Hyams, it had a great cast, featuring Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro, Sam Waterston, O.J. Simpson, Hal Holbrook, Karen Black, Telly Savalas, David Huddleston, and David Doyle. SurvivalBlog reader E.S. sent this note about the film’s interesting premise: “A fake Mars mission, government overreach, and a major cover-up when things go sour. It all sounds familiar. You only have to change the details — WMD, the Wuhan Flu, et cetera.” — December 17th, 1905, was the birthday of Simo Häyhä, who was the world’s most …

The Boston Tea Party anti-tax protest raid was on the night of December 16, 1773 at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. Frustrated colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. This was the first significant publicized act of defiance to British rule in the American colonies. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. …

December 15th is Bill of Rights Day. (The Bill of Rights became law on this day in 1791, following ratification by the state of Virginia.) We encourage our American readers to gather publicly and read the Bill of Rights aloud. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. …

December 14th is the birthday of the late John Warren Wadleigh (born 1927, died September 24, 2013.) Wadleigh was better known to many SurvivalBlog readers by his pen name: Oliver Lange. He was the author of the best-selling resistance warfare novel Vandenberg. — Today’s feature article is a guest piece written by SurvivalBlog reader Mrs. Alaska. Because it was first published in her blog, Alaska Bush Life, Off-Road, Off-Grid, it is not eligible for judging in the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. We are in need of articles to post for Round 104 of the writing contest.  More than $775,000 worth …

After spending nine months on the run, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003. During his 24 years in office, Saddam’s secret police, charged with protecting his power, terrorized the public, ignoring the human rights of the nation’s citizens. While many of his people faced poverty, he lived in incredible luxury, building more than 20 lavish palaces throughout the country. It was fitting that, in the end, he was hiding in nothing more than a hole in the ground covered by plywood. — December 13th is also the birthday of Sergeant Alvin York. — SurvivalBlog Writing …

On December 12, 2019, the British General Election was won by Boris Johnson‘s Conservative Party in a landslide win with 80-seat majority. Scottish National Party also won 48 of 59 seats in Scotland. — Today’s feature article was penned by SurvvalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We are in need of entries for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 104 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and …

On December 11, 1994, Russian troops invaded Chechnya to suppress the rebel Chechen government led by Dzhokhar Dudayev. This began what is commonly called the First Chechen War. — I just got word of the passing of Colonel Joe Kittinger.  What an amazing man! He will be missed.  My condolences to his family. — We are seeking entries for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 104 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there …

On December 10, 1520, Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict that had demanded that he recant or face ex-communication. And on this day in 1942, my great uncle Lt. Robert I. Kinsella was killed when his B-24 bomber (part of the 90th Bombardment Group, Heavy, 320th Bomber Squadron), flying from the Iron Range Airfield in Northern Queensland, Australia went down in the South Pacific. There were no survivors. — Today’s feature article was penned by SurvvalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We are in great need of entrries for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More …

December 9th, 1914 was the birthday of Maximo Guillermo “Max” Manus. He put his life on the line, fighting the Nazi occupiers. Max Manus passed away in 1996. His exploits are fairly accurately shown in the movie Max Manus: Man of War. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day …