Notes for Wednesday – March 16, 2016

Today is the anniversary of the Battle at Pound Gap Kentucky (1862).

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MobileSec is offering a $5 discount (good until 3/20/16) exclusively for SurvivalBlog readers for purchases of the Cell Phone Blocker through their website. Just email them using the online form and state that you saw the offer on SurvivalBlog. (Note: The Laptop EMP shield is not available at this time though.)

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. 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,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 63 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. 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.

Friction Fire- Part 1, by N.E.

I believe fire by friction is one of the most valuable skills we can have in our bag of tricks. Beyond “simply” making fire, the process provides a sense of freedom that people interested in prepping, survival, and outdoor skills no doubt highly value. It also provides important insight into human ingenuity. It can enhance appreciation for those who came before us and exposes how dependent we have become on the modern, consumer-based system. In this post I will demonstrate how to successfully create a bow drill set. To demonstrate fire by friction, I have made a bow drill set from scratch in my garage, accompanied by pictures of the process. It is winter here, and it is pretty cold out. As such, the garage will have to do.

It can be overwhelming attempting to memorize all the different species of plants that are useful for edibles, medicinal purposes, and fire making. However, the fingernail test has proven to work time and again when selecting woods ideal for use in a successful bow drill set. When we are searching for wood to make our set, we are looking for what is called “hanging dead.” Hanging dead are dead tree limbs that are not touching the ground, collecting moisture. Moisture is our enemy when creating fire. Once you find a dry sample, you then want to baton (split) a section of the wood to perform the fingernail test. We are looking for a soft wood that, when you press your fingernail into the inner portion of the wood, your fingernail leaves an impression. If your fingernail leaves an impression in the wood then you have found a piece that should work for your bow drill set (see figure 1).

The Fingernail Test
The Fingernail Test

The components of a bow drill set are a bow, drill, hearth, cord, and socket (see figure 2). You want you make your drill and hearth from the same piece of wood that passed the fingernail test. Once we have found that sample, we use it to make our drill and hearth.

Bow Drill Set
Bow Drill Set

A brief but important note: When you initially start out searching for your hanging dead soft wood, you should also collect tinder and lots of it. Soon our bow drill will be complete and we will make an ember. Once you obtain that ember, you want to make sure that ember becomes a flame. For this, we need tinder. So, collect dead, dry grasses, cedar bark, or similar material in your region that you can use to make a “bird’s nest”. The cedar bark and grass you want to roll around in your hands in a balling motion to allow the fibers to break down a bit. This will assist with the ember catching fire. Once we get an ember, we are going to carefully dump that ember into the bird’s nest and blow on the ember to obtain a flame. So, to be clear, when you think you have enough tinder, get some more. You can never have enough. Pro tip: If you collect dryer lint for tinder to keep in your BOB, lint that is derived from cotton can smother your ember and may significantly hinder making a flame. To be clear, cotton will burn well with a flame, but it can smother an ember. Now, back to the bow drill…

Ideally, we would like the wood for the drill to be as straight as possible. Finding a perfectly straight piece means you were very lucky. For the rest of us, we may need to carve on our drill in order to straighten it up. For the drill, I like the length to be approximately the size of my forearm (wrist to inner elbow; see figure 3). The width of the drill can vary, but I try to work with a piece that is close to the width of my thumb or index finger. This is nature, so approximates will make do. Cut off the desired length from the hanging dead, and begin shaving off any burrs or knots to smooth up the drill. Should your drill have some slight curves, you will want to eyeball a straight line through the drill and began shaving the wood with the goal of minimizing any curves.

Drill Length
Drill Length

Once you have knocked off the burrs and attempted to straighten the drill as much as possible, you will then want to shave a dull point at both ends of the drill. Note: Your ends do not need to be, and indeed should not be, like a spear point. Just shave off enough so that the ends taper, such that they are narrower than the shaft.

For the hearth, you want to take a section of your hanging dead (obviously not the drill) and split the piece in two down the middle. Take one section and carve a square into it and begin lightly carving out the square. This lightly carved out square is where your drill will begin to mate with the hearth (see figure 4). Without this square indentation, you may experience the drill slipping off the hearth during mating, which is very frustrating.

Hearth Square Notch
Hearth Square Notch

Next, we need to create our bow and socket. I prefer to use a sandstone rock for my socket, in which I carve out a little pocket for one end of my drill to mate to. However, if you are in a region that does not have sandstone, you can use a section of hard wood by using the “Y” of a branch. Carve out a little pocket for one end of the drill to mate to (see figure 5).

Sandstone Socket
Sandstone Socket
"Y" Branch Socket
“Y” Branch Socket

To make our bow, we are looking for a piece of wood that has a natural curve to it. This piece needs to be fairly strong, as weak wood will collapse under stress. To string our bow, you can use natural cordage, 550 cord, bank line, et cetera. Just about any cordage we can find will do. However, I have found 550 cord to be a bit too smooth. It begins to slip once you start applying speed and pressure to your drill. As such, bank line or similar cordage that is a bit rougher will contribute to your success. To string your cordage to your bow, you will want to carve out a small notch in the bow for the string to attach to (see figure 6).

Bow Notch
Bow Notch

String your bow with a little slack in the line. You do not want the line to be too tight or too loose. If the line is too tight, once you thread the drill in the line, the drill will want to kick out of the hearth. This will create problems later in the process. If the line is too loose, you will not be able to get enough tension on the drill to spin it as we apply downward pressure. Play around to find the happy medium. Now we should have all the parts we need to make our fire, and it is likely you will have worked up a light sweat. Take the end of your drill that you plan to mate to your socket and rub it lightly on your nose, or rub your finger on your nose and wipe the oils on the end of the drill that will mate to your socket. The light sweat we have worked up will double as lubrication between your drill and socket. Do not lubricate the end of the drill that mates to the hearth. Remember, moisture is our enemy!

The correct posture is very important when working your bow drill set. As you place the hearth under your foot, you may need to lightly rotate your foot forward or backward, with the goal of making the hearth as level as possible. String your drill in the bow and place the drill in the square we carved in the hearth earlier. Take the socket in your hand and place it on top of the drill. You want to make sure that you lock your wrist in to your shin as you begin working your bow (see figure 7). Locking your wrist in to your shin really makes the difference between success and failure.

Locking Wrist to Shin
Locking Wrist to Shin

Take a knee on one leg and place your opposite foot on the hearth. Again, good posture is critical. Make sure that the knee you are resting on is out of the way of your bow hand movement. This is why we initially cut our drill to the length of our forearm, so as not to hunch over and get in the way of our bow hand movement.

Once you are stringed up and in the proper posture, begin moving your bow slowly back and forth in a straight, horizontal line. You want to make long strokes and use all of the string. Moving your bow in a straight line is important, as that motion is what keeps the contact point of the string and drill from walking up and down your drill. You want to avoid the string walking up and down the drill as much as possible. The amount of pressure you apply with your socket hand is very minimal at this point. You only want to apply enough pressure to make sure the drill and hearth stay together. Slowly increase the rate of your bow movement. Again, use long strokes and all of the string that you can.Picture-8 Try not to use short, fast movements. Depending on your wood, a few seconds of applying the proper technique will have mated the drill and hearth (see figure 8). Once you achieve this mate, stop! Pick up the hearth and sit down because you are now going to carve our notch for the embers to fall out.

Letter Re: The Survival Battery

Sir:

‘The Survival Battery’ is an entertaining read, but the writer has overlooked several vital concerns. For one thing, even the budget plan requires stocking nine different calibers. I also don’t agree with the mix of operating systems. It includes a mix of single-action and double-action revolvers, DAO and/or single-action semi-auto pistols, pump shotguns, bolt-action rifles, air guns, and modern semi-auto rifles.

Maintaining proficiency with all these systems will be very difficult. In a SHTF situation, every-day and “social” firearms should be the same. Just don’t expect a handgun to do a long-gun’s job. Shoot the bear with your rifle/shotgun. You did bring it, didn’t you? Or do you always drive screws with a hammer?

A 4” DA service revolver in .357 Magnum is an excellent entry-level handgun. It shoots .38s for training and heavy loads when needed. Revolvers are more tolerant of variations in ammo and may be less intimidating for new shooters. Glocks are reliable and readily available on the used-gun market. Government agencies are selling off their .40s at good prices, but 9mm and .45 ammunition may be easier to come by. Find a holster you can wear all day, every day with comfort, whatever you are doing. Stock up on speedloaders and magazines.

Skip the air guns and the .22 pistol and go right to a rifle. The Ruger 10-22 is hard to beat. Magazines are rugged and affordable. Buy lots, both 10- and 25-round. It’s also hard to fault the Remington 870 unless some of your people are left-handed. Then the Mossberg 500, with its tang safety, comes to the fore. It’s cheap and looks it, but it works and accessories abound. If cheapness bothers you but you need ambidexterity, look at the Browning BPS. All long-guns need slings.

The Remington 700 in .308 is a capable platform. No argument there, but it might be well to have an M1A in the mix. I also like what I hear about the Ruger Precision Rifle. M1A magazines work in it. Buy quality mags, like Checkmate. Good AR-15s are accurate and easy to handle. They accept an unmatched array of parts and accessories. Just remember, .223s are not .308s. If you can’t have both, go with the .308. Leupold and Burris scopes are excellent, but don’t skimp on mounts and rings. Buy all-steel, the best you can. Look into Trijicon scopes and sights. Consider NV instead of, or in addition to, suppressors.

On that note, don’t over-buy. Just because you can afford a Barrett doesn’t mean you need or can use the extra range and power. Can you shoot well enough to justify a $2500 Les Baer, or would a $700 Springfield Range Officer do? Invest in extra parts, magazines, and ammunition for guns that match your situation and ability. Invest in professional training. Shoot often. Confidence is part of your weapons system!

So: .38/.357, 9mm or .45 ACP for handguns, 12 gauge shotguns, 22 LR and .308, which is four calibers instead of nine. Add .223 if you must. Standardize on revolvers, DAOs or 1911s, but standardize. I sold the best handgun I’ll ever own, an HK P7M8, because I have Colt/Browning reflexes. Remington 700s for the bare-bones budget, maybe M1As and a Ruger PR if your wallet allows. – Randy in Maine

Economics and Investing:

Zika, ZIRP, and NIRP Viruses “What if we think of ZIRP as a financial virus, created and distributed by the central banks, that infects pools of savings?”

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Global Liquidity Collapses To 2008 Crisis Levels

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

EPA Spends $295,507 to Track Energy and Water Use of Office Workers (Washington Free Beacon)

Hillary’s Federal Education Jackboot Squad (National Review)

Obama’s Transportation Budget is DOA (Government Waste Fraud and Abuse)

Taxpayers Can’t Afford to Keep Paying for Lost Gas (Taxpayers for Common Sense)

International News

Time to Ditch Retirement? Global Leaders Confront an Aging Population (The Fiscal Times) Commentary: Although this article focuses on changing norms,, which are an important part of the overall picture, much less attention is paid to the “expense” of longer, healthier lives beyond a stream of income.

IMF: Demographic Catastophe Undermines World’s Economy (The Strategist) Commentary: Demographics have extraordinary implications for economic conditions around the globe including resource allocation, which is central to the study of economics.

Animation: Japan’s Aging Population (Visual Capitalist) Excerpt: “In the background, and even more important, is Japan’s lingering demographic crisis. The country’s population is projected to fall from 127 million to 87 million by 2060, at which point more than 40% of the population will be older than 65.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Economics in a Box: A 16-Week Economics Course (Economics in a Box) Although I have not had the opportunity to review the product content, this program is intriguing. For all homeschooling families, I highly recommend a significant emphasis on economics across all ages, and I encourage you to explore this program in addition to others that may be of interest in your lesson planning. The Cato Institute also offers a brief commentary on one of the titles included in the core reading materials: Money, Greed and God: Why Capitalism is the Solution and Not the Problem by Jay W. Richards

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

How does one consume 27,000 gallons of water in a single month? Beverly Hills put a spotlight on its celebrity water wasters — and it worked – Sent in by P.S.

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CBO suggests taxing drivers by the mile – One should note that the only way to do this is to install a tracking device in your car. – G.P.

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From a report by the Center for Immigration Studies: 124 Illegal Immigrants Released By DHS Later Charged with Murder – Sent in by C.L.

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The truth about how the “refugee crisis” was rigged from start to finish – Sent in by RBS

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For those who think Trump is the answer: Trump Supporter Who Punched Protester Says “Next Time We Might Have To Kill Him, He Might Be A Terrorist “ – Not too different and only a short hop from words that have come from Trump’s own mouth. – M.H.

Notes for Tuesday – March 15, 2016

This is the birthday of General and President Andrew Jackson, in 1767. He was the 7th President of the United States (1829-1837.)

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Safecastle has their lowest price ever on LifeStraw 5-packs. Use the coupon “LS16off5” at checkout to get the discount down to as much as 48% off of MSRP.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. 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,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 63 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. 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.

Why I Started Prepping, by KB

Several years ago, right after the election of Barrack Hussein Obama as President of the USA, a feeling crept over me that things were about to change. It is at that moment that I seriously began to start preparing for what now is evident, that our country and the world are in a severe downward spiral.

CEOs of America’s top companies were so busy exporting our jobs for the sake of the bottom line, keeping shareholders happy, and avoiding high U.S. corporate tax rates that one day we woke up to find that the middle class in America was disappearing. This is the middle class, whose prosperity after WWII brought about the greatest economic revolution the world has ever seen and was our strength.

I work for a leading global corporation that manufactures equipment for the mining, aggregates, and oil/gas industries. I have traveled all over the world and spent a great deal of time in Latin America, where I always wondered why their people are so poor with all of the abundant natural resources they have. The answer I came up with is that there is no middle class to bring about prosperity. In Latin America, you are either rich or poor, and the middle class is, for the most part, nonexistent. The last few decades have reversed this trend at the expense of the middle class in the U.S. The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, & China) countries have experienced a robust growth in the middle class and a higher standard of living that brought about prosperity. Sound familiar? This phenomenon happened in Mexico and other Latin American countries marching across Asia as well. Now that we have exported many of our high paying manufacturing jobs and wealth to these countries, I can only draw one conclusion: We were sold out by corporate America, our politicians, the banking system, and federal reserve policy that printed money like there was no tomorrow. Well folks, tomorrow is here and what will you do to survive?

Thomas Jefferson said, “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” He also said, “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.”

Barack Obama has been allowed to promote his socialist agenda by melodic rhetoric, executive action, political bickering, and voter apathy. The man is not ignorant, far from it. He enticed the masses with free food, free cell phones, free health care, and subsidized housing, and the masses began to think it was their right to all things free. It’s interesting how I don’t find that anywhere in the Bill of Rights. He and the progressives have perpetrated the biggest theft of American wealth the world has ever seen, not to mention that it is taken right out of the liberal playbook on how to get votes– buy them. The last budget of his presidency is $4.1 trillion in spending. In 2015, the U.S. Treasury collected $2.67 trillion in revenue. Now you know why we have passed the $19 trillion debt level under his presidency. Who is footing the tax bill? The below chart shows the percentage of revenue by source for the years 1952 and 2015.

taxes

It shows that you and I are paying a higher percentage of revenue while corporate America pays about a third of what they did in 1952. Can we blame corporate America? Not really. They can afford legions of tax attorneys to find loop holes to avoid the 39.1% corporate tax in the U.S. and shelter earnings off shore.

Heritage.org published a graph showing the corporate tax rate in select countries around the world and stated that “The U.S. total corporate tax rate at 39.1 percent is the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world, which reduces investment in the U.S. and costs American workers jobs and higher wages. COMBINED CORPORATE TAX RATES (2014).” See graph below.

OECD

What can we do? We have an election coming in November and whatever your party affiliation, whether it be Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, or Whig, all I ask is to get out and cast your vote. However, do not get hung up on party affiliation. Spend some time to really understand the position of the candidates and whether or not they fit with your beliefs and concerns. If we do not turn this country around in the next few years by electing people to office that will institute sound fiscal policy, maintaining a strong defense, fighting for our 2nd Amendment rights and the Constitution in general, eliminating the welfare/entitlement state and not get hung up on political correctness, then all I can say is that if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Our institutions of higher learning are forcing their progressive ideas onto our children. Many young voters are listening to the sweet music that Bernie Sanders is playing of free, free, and free! Allow that man to get elected and you will pay, pay and pay! Many people around the world have given their lives for our republic and for citizens to have the right to vote. Why do we take it so lightly? Do not fall victim to voter apathy and squander such a gift that many have died to give us.

I remember our youngest daughter calling me when she got her first paycheck. She worked for two weeks and had calculated how much she would earn, and when she opened up her pay envelope her heart sank. Where did my money go? How come they take out so much for taxes? Where is that money going? Welcome, my dear, to Real Life 101. The politicians took it and squander it on all sorts of free stuff that you and I pay for. Any vestiges of liberal thinking quickly evaporated from her thought processes after that first paycheck. Talk to your children and get them involved. Teach them how government works (or doesn’t work). Tell them you can fight back, but you need to vote.

We face difficult times, and I have adopted what I call the 3P’s: prayer, prepping, and pray again. If you have not found the Lord and turned your life over to Him, then it is not too late. It is often too easy to fall into a mindset of negativity. I struggle with this at times as I am sure many of you do. My wife tells me to quit watching the news, but it is not easy when you are surrounded by the events of the world. Moral decay, ISIS, Christians being murdered around the world, a world economy in turmoil, feckless politicians, and the list goes on and on. God is the answer. He asks you to lay your burdens at His feet, and you will find comfort in your soul. All He asks is to give your life to Him and experience the depth of grace, love, and forgiveness that we cannot even fathom. He stands at the door and knocks. Will you answer? I can tell you now that if the SHTF, you will not survive on bread alone. You may have all of the bullets, Band-Aids, and beans that money can buy surrounded by a mighty fortress, but without a spiritual compass to guide you then you will not survive. Oh, you may live on for decades, only to miss a life everlasting with the LORD. I know what kind of life I want after this earthly body has turned to dust.

Once you have found the LORD or if you already have Him in your heart then it is time to prepare. I am not going to go through the extensive list of preps I have for me and my family. There has been much on this topic in SurvivalBlog and plenty in the archives to review. We do not know the hour in which our LORD shall return and there may very well be plenty of calamity, death, and destruction in this world before He does come. Be prepared! As a former Boy Scout, this motto still rings true in my head. Move to the American Redoubt or away from urban areas, to areas that let you be more self-sufficient if you can afford it. We moved four years ago back to Colorado from Indiana and found a place up in the high mountains and away from the city. Get your bullets, Band-Aids, and beans stocked up. Learn skills that will serve you during times of need. I have an engineering background and have a vast array of capabilities, but I also trained and worked as an EMT for 4½ years that gave me valuable experience in first aid and emergency trauma. Learn to grow your food. You really don’t need acres of land to produce food. There are many publications on square foot gardening that can make the difference in life and death when you need to stretch your stock pile of food or add variety to your diet. Get barter items for trade. I travel a lot and spend many nights in hotel rooms. I always collect the shampoo, conditioner, body lotions, and soaps and bring them home. They’re good barter items to have since cleanliness is a key to health in the SHTF times and it doesn’t cost me anything. Buy silver and gold and store up on nickels. Hard currency will be king when our fiat currency collapses. Make friends in your community with like mindset people you can count on in difficult times. Your church is a good place to start. Maintain OPSEC or you will find unwanted hordes descending upon you and your family when the TEOTWAWKI comes. Maintain your health through good diet and exercise, and get any medical or dental procedures done that you have been putting off. Be ready to bug out if you have to and have a secure location to fall back on. Use SurvivalBlog resources to help you develop a plan of action and then follow through on the actions. The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Start today!

Finally, pray again. Pray that you never have to use your preps and that our world heals itself. Pray for our leaders, whether you like them or not. 2 Timothy 2:26 (ESV) 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

GOD’s blessings be upon you,

Letter Re: Gas and Diesel Storage

Hi Hugh and Jim,
I am from Southeast Asia. Thank you for this article. I have been searching for answers to this topic for awhile, but I have not came across anything helpful out there. I have consulted with reps from oil and gas companies, but none were willing to share their insights on the matter. Since long-term storage for gasoline seems slim due to its inherent problems, would long-term storage of diesel to power generators, trucks, et cetera be a better option. Would the same problems related with quick expiry (instability), requiring special containers and flammability associated with gasoline that you have explained in your reply also apply to diesel? Appreciate your insights. – Mack

HJL Replies: Diesel fuel is processed less than other fuels that are readily available. As such, it is inherently more stable. While the life of untreated gasoline is measured in months, diesel has no problem lasting for more than a year in an untreated state. The addition of stabilizer will increase that easily to the five year mark or more. All fuels have issues with water, and diesel needs to be protected from water and condensation in the tank. Algae is the number one enemy, as it will happily coexist in a diesel fuel tank that has water in it. Your best bet is to keep the tank full to reduce air space and condensation and treat it with an algaecide. (A commercially available diesel stabilizer usually contains an algaecide, but check the label to be sure.)

News From The American Redoubt:

Idaho Sheriffs Association Backs Permitless-carry Bill – Sent in by D.B.

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Malheur County Oregon residents vote ‘no’ on canyonlands conservation – RBS

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Jailhouse interview: Ammon Bundy says government’s story is unraveling

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Suspect in Idaho pastor shooting arrested near White House – Sent in by RBS

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Rebelling state politicians & Feds launch assault to crucify this honorable Oregon Sheriff, hopefully the citizens of Oregon will stand with & support him.

If citizens don’t unite behind sheriffs like Glenn Palmer, they will also end up standing alone when the Feds come to strip them of their firearms, assets, and freedoms. States, such as California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Colorado, New York, Illinois, etc. are now ruled by marxist anti-American politicians because the people cowered and refused to take a stand and immediately removed their oath breakers from office. Cowardly civil behavior is directly responsible for the creating millions of illegal aliens who ran-away from their obligations and now want some other country to give them money, property, and freedoms they were unwilling to fight for. Our 2nd Amendment will be of zero use to Americans who are too bashful to exercise their Constitutional obligation to discipline and fire their openly corrupt public servants in a peaceful manner. – Chuck T.

Economics and Investing:

Amid sales surge, Dollar General plans 900 new stores – RBS

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Some people just never learn: US credit card debt balloons to $917B: What it means – G.P.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

The Biggest Force Powering the Stock Market is Starting to Disappear, and It Could be a Huge Problem (Business Insider) Excerpt: “The issue that should scare investors is what would happen if this corporate stimulus went away.”

Without Buybacks There is No Earnings Per Share Growth (Contra Corner) Excerpt: “According to a chart from Deutsche Bank, as sales and profit growth have retreated, companies’ consistent purchases of their own shares have prevented earnings-per-share, or EPS, growth from going negative.”

Will Defunct Obamacare Co-Ops Repay Taxpayers’ Money? Senate Panel Seeks Answers (The Daily Signal) Excerpt: “When co-ops collapsed, 740,000 residents of 14 states lost their health insurance provider. The 12 failed co-ops also received a total of $1.2 billion in taxpayer dollars that they may never repay.”

Feds Ignored Warning Signs of Obamacare Co-Op Flops (The Daily Caller) Excerpt: “…Deloitte reports “showed that, starting almost immediately, the failed co-ops experienced severe financial losses that exceeded even the worst- case scenarios outlined in their loan applications….”

International News

JP Morgan: The ECB Could Purchase Equities Next (Zero Hedge) Excerpt: “…we find it very disturbing that we now live in a world in which the only asset class that has no explicit central bank support, is a “pet rock.”

Hungary’s Central Bank Ready to Use All Tools to Meet Inflation Goal (Reuters) Excerpt: “…there were significant downward risks to the achievement of the inflation goal with current monetary conditions and rate-setters would have to act to offset them.”

China’s PBOC Flags Stimulus Restraint but Says Policy Should be Flexible (Reuters) Excerpt: “The central bank is trying to keep liquidity flush to support an economy undergoing the most significant structural reforms in two decades. But officials, including Zhou, have warned against excessive policy loosening….”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Spring Foods to Can or Freeze (Frugal Living) Spring is just around the corner. This article includes lots of ideas and instructions for ways to enjoy the spring harvest by preserving early fruits and vegetables for use throughout the year! These are great ways to improve the quality of delicious home-cooked meals and save money in the grocery budget at the same time.

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Remote Utah Enclave Becomes New Battleground Over Reach of U.S. Control.

Many readers will recall the Four Corners region as one of the main locales of JWR’s second novel, Survivors.

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7-Eleven customer shoots man who attacked store clerk – Sent in by D.S.

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Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large, sent in this pair:

Rebel improvised APC (Not in English, but the picture says it all!)

Video: Be careful opening doors and don’t push any buttons.

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Wyoming man’s EPA fines are now approaching $16 millionin his continuing battle over the right to have a pond on his property. SurvivalBlog notes that the state gave permission to build the pond. Just another example of out-of-control bureaucracy. – J.C.

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Video: Massive tax fraud by illegals – P.S.