How Can We Be “Antigovernment”?

Recently, I was falsely labeled “antigovernment” by the SPLC, and that prompts me to post some clarifying remarks: There is a huge difference between being “antigovernment” and being someone who insists that our government remain our government and that it abide by the law of the land. Constitutional rights are not negotiable. In our system of government–a Constitutional Republic–we are a nation of laws, with the consent of the governed. In effect, we govern ourselves, through our elected representatives and our appointed officials. Or at least that is how it is supposed to work. I am not a “subject” of …




The SPLC Crosses the Line with Their Latest Smears

The smears and innuendos by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that I’ve noted before in SurvivalBlog are continuing. Take a few minutes to read this new article on the controversial Citadel project that appeared in the Summer issue of the SPLC’s magazine, and at their web site, titled: Behind the Walls. It was written by Spokane region journalist Bill Morlin. The SPLC is famous for cleverly using loaded words, half-truths, and guilt by association to attempt to destroy the reputations of conservatives. This latest article is no exception. Take note of the numerous conclusions that Morlin draws just from …




Writing Contest Winners – Round 46

We’ve completed the judging for Round 46 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize goes to Steven in Alabama for When Bugging Out is Not an Option: Hunkering Down with a Quadriplegic, which was posted on May 24, 2013. He will receive: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases …




Two New SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Prizes

The generous sponsors of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest have helped make it a great success, and an ongoing source of tremendous knowledge for preparedness-minded families. My sincere thanks, both to the authors and the sponsors. We are pleased to announce that starting with Round 47, we have added two new prizes to the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The first is a couple of BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks. (One of their “Level”, and one “Atlas” model, both in black), with a combined value of $275. These two packs are now part of the First Prize package. BirkSun makes a novel product …




A Reminder: JWR Shuns Social Networking

Please refrain from trying to get me to join Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or any of the other social network sites. I get more than 175 e-mails per day, and that is bad enough, but getting an extra 20 proclaiming that “John Smith is following you on Twitter” and “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” is distracting. I consider these networks a security risk, so I simply don’t respond. Knowing that even “deleted ” Facebook posts, profiles, and photos are stored indefinitely, and most recently learning that the IRS is actively mining Facebook posts to find …




Special Announcement: The American Redoubt Bullion Silver Coin

The new American Redoubt .999 fine silver coin has been launched! These very attractive coins are produced by Mulligan Mint. They are one Troy ounce weight, and are being sold at a very competitive market price. (Spot silver was advantageously below $23.10 per ounce, when I last checked, and many dealers are charging a premium of $9 per ounce over spot!) Lord willing, this release will be followed in a few months by fractional 1/2 ounce, 1/4 ounce, and possibly 1/10th ounce coins of the same design. Note that we will earn a modest commission from each sale, to help …




Letter Re: Hard Copies of Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course?

Dear James, To follow up on your comments to getting a printed version of the Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course binder/book, I would strongly recommend taking a memory stick (thumb drive) into one of these stores to retrieve a hard copy, if you don’t have a moderate capacity printer at home.  The Online Printing offered by FedEx Office, The UPS Store, and others put your request into a national database and relay your order to the store you choose – the store then accesses your print job on the national data base to print the project out. While you …




Letter Re: Hard Copies of Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course?

James Wesley; Can I get the Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course in a paperback version or other printed version? I don’t have a printer and don’t want to depend on the computer to have lists and those appendix tables. I’m not really computer useful. Thank you very much. I read your blog every day, and have your books, – Bob L. JWR Replies: Sorry, but the course is now available only via digital download. But keep in mind that the old binder copies sold for $120+ each, so the digital download–at less than $20–is a real bargain. If you …




Writing Contest Winners, and a New Prize

We’ve completed the judging for for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize goes to Lockstich for Industrial Sewing Machines for Prepared Families which was posted on February 8, 2013. He will receive: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of …




Letter From #1 Son on SurvivalBlog Publishing Structure Suggestions

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers: We are in the early stages of transitioning to new content management software for SurvivalBlog. I’d appreciate input from any of our readers who have experience in content design, on making the site even more useful. For our general readers, don’t worry, there won’t be any major changes in the blog. You will still have the same daily posts. In the seven years that SurvivalBlog has been running, we have built a massive archive of nearly 17,300 posts. This includes many daily items, such as notes, odds ‘n sods posts, and quotes of the day. Then we …




SurvivalBlog Archive 2005-2012 DVD — Now Orderable!

The expanded SurvivalBlog 2005-2012 archive has been selling at a fast pace, via digital download. The DVD version of the archive has now been tested and is available to order! The DVD is priced $2 higher than the digital download. This new archive collection has expanded bonus material (a digital copy of my book Rawles on Retreats and Relocation–normally $28 in hard copy–12 Firearms Manuals, and 14 U.S. Military Manuals), an improved user interface (with the same look and feel of the SurvivalBlog web site), and of course one more year of the blog content. The digital download and DVD …




Update: SurvivalBlog Archive 2005-2012

The expanded SurvivalBlog 2005-2012 archive has been selling at a fast pace, via digital download. The DVD version of the archive should be available in another 6 or 7 days, after we’ve had time to test some prototypes. The DVD will be priced $2 higher than the digital download. Thanks for your patience. This new archive collection has expanded bonus material (a digital copy of my book Rawles on Retreats and Relocation–normally $28 in hard copy–12 Firearms Manuals, and 14 U.S. Military Manuals), an improved user interface (with the same look and feel of the SurvivalBlog web site), and of …




SurvivalBlog 2005-2012 Archive Now Available Via Digital Download

It keeps getting bigger and better! The updated and expanded SurvivalBlog 2005-2012 archive now available via digital download. This new edition has expanded bonus material (a digital copy of my book Rawles on Retreats and Relocation–normally $28 in hard copy, 12 Firearms Manuals, and 14 U.S. Military Manuals), an improved user interface (with the same look and feel of the SurvivalBlog web site), and of course one more year of the blog content. The digital download and DVD both include the archives in HTML (10,131 pages) and PDF (7,923 pages). The blog archive is fully keyword searchable. It runs on …




Annual Reminder: Ten Cent Challenge Subscriptions

I only post one reminder each year about beginning or renewing your Ten Cent Challenge subscription to SurvivalBlog, and this is it. These subscriptions cover our domain registration, web hosting, utilities, and ISP bandwidth costs. All of these costs are substantial, because we have to maintain servers in three countries. (To explain: We were subjected to a couple of vicious DDOS (“ping flood”) hacker attacks last year. To be ready for any future attacks, we needed to establish automatic failover redundancy.) We don’t subject our readers to endless whining pledge drives like PBS. This is the one and only annual …




Resolving to Start the New Year Right

Here at the Rawles Ranch, we’ve resolved to get back into doing our daily stretching/calisthenics and thrice-weekly tactical hikes on the National Forest land that compasses our property. (We had let this practice slip away last Fall, as the cold weather set in.) Hence forth, no more lame excuses. We’ve also begun supporting C.R.O.S.S. Ministries with weekly support. With automatic PayPal payments, this won’t be overlooked. They deserve your support, too. Note that these are Christian missionaries who will train South Sudanese villagers with small arms, so that they can defend themselves. This is a Biblical concept! (Luke 22:36) We’ve …