Notes from JWR:

The Age of Deception and Betrayal continues: Kerry signs UN arms treaty, senators threaten to block it. For the BHO regime to have proceeded with this–even though there was clearly no majority support in the Senate–was despicable. Meanwhile, there was a cloture vote cut off Senator Ted Cruz’s filibuster of the Obamacare Continuing Resolution. This is beyond sad.

September 26th is the birthday of the late Jack LaLanne. (Born 1914, died January 23, 2011.) His feats of strength were amazing. And he was just 5’6″ tall.

Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: 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 Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) A $300 Gift Certificate from Freeze Dry Guy. G.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, H.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and I.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials F.) A full set of all 22 of the books published by PrepperPress.com. This is more than a $200 value, and G.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security., E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Round 48 ends on September 30th and the queue for that round is full, but get busy writing and e-mail us your entry for Round 49. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.