A Red State Manifesto: Two Americas in 2025 – Part 2, by Jonathan Rawles

(Continued from Part 1.)

Political Migration: Origins of the Big Sort

In 2008, demographers Bill Bishop and Robert G. Cushing put a name to a trend that had been going on in America since the 1960s with their book The Big Sort. The authors’ contention is that Americans are sorting themselves geographically and that as a consequence, all areas are becoming more politically polarized.

In their model, people do not necessarily move for explicitly political reasons, but based on lifestyle and cultural choices, which tend to correlate with political outlooks. As they describe it: “People who move to Portland want good public transportation and city life. People who don’t give a hoot about those things migrate to Phoenix, suburban Dallas, south of Minneapolis, or north of Austin.”Continue reading“A Red State Manifesto: Two Americas in 2025 – Part 2, by Jonathan Rawles”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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This article was posted back in December: Costco now has truncated book sections at only 100 of their 600 stores. JWR’s Comment:  The good old days of book shopping at Costco (as pictured above), are over. I suppose this change explains why Costco did not place a repeat order for my book The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide from Thunder Bay Press, even though the first printings sold out very quickly. That book was primarily sold through Costco.

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Over at the WRSA site: Buppert Sends: Memo To DOGE. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog reader Tim J. for the link.)

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Legal Victory Secured for Young Adults in Pennsylvania Open Carry Case.

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PayPal Admits Freezing Account Over Covid Mandate Criticism.  JWR’s Comment:  Personally, as someone who was de-banked without any explanation or warning by my regional bank (headquartered in Las Vegas), I can relate to the experiences of those who were targeted by PayPal. De-banking is beyond just inconvenient. It is stifling!

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Blog reader D.S.V. suggested this: Limiting Ultra-Processed Foods This Year? Experts Recommend Starting With These Three.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 28, 2025

On January 28, 1813, Jane Austen‘s “Pride and Prejudice” was first published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom.

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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.

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Today’s feature article is a guest post that was written by JWR’s #1 Son, Jonathan Rawles.  It is not part of the writing contest judging.

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We are now seeking entries for Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. That round will begin on February 1st, 2025. More than $945,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st. Get busy writing and e-mail us your entry fro Round 117. 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.

A Red State Manifesto: Two Americas in 2025 – Part 1, by Jonathan Rawles

The Landscape

In 2025, the divide between red states and blue states has not gone away, but only become more distinct. The decisive results of the 2024 election saw all the swing states shift significantly toward the Republican candidate, and even typically “purple” metros like Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston voted for Trump. This victory has further cemented the idea of Red America as a distinct entity, directly opposed to what is happening in Blue America. It’s a clear cultural and political divide cutting across the country.

The electoral map makes this abundantly clear: The core of America is firmly conservative, while the Pacific and north and central Atlantic coasts (along with Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Illinois) are still dominated by the progressive agenda.

Over the past decades, this divide has become more and more pronounced. Numerous commentators and analysts have pointed out the growing divide. Bill Bishop first brought it to national attention with his 2008 book *The Big Sort*, and it’s been an ongoing topic of discussion with every election since.

However, the overwhelming support for Trump’s second term slightly muted the divide in this election. In 2024, every single state and 90% of all counties had a more Republican vote, and Democratic margins were narrower in every state. While this did not erase or reverse the divide overall, it does paint a hopeful picture of future gains for conservatives.Continue reading“A Red State Manifesto: Two Americas in 2025 – Part 1, by Jonathan Rawles”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, a round-up on winter sports in the American Redoubt.

Idaho

Funky Towns & Awesome Skiing – Northern Idaho Ski Resorts.

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Southern Idaho Skiing & Snowboarding Road Trip.  Here is a quote:

“SKI Magazine ranked Sun Valley the #1 resort for the 2020 season and if you have ever skied here you know why. It isn’t the 2,434 ski able acres and 3,400 vertical feet, “What seems to capture the hearts of most visitors right off the bat is the authentic Western town of Ketchum that anchors the ski resort” said SKI Magazine.  Sun Valley has a rich and storied history, but also looks forward with recent investments and innovations including a terrain expansion this season of over 380 acres of expert terrain, featuring chutes, glades and bowls, called Sunrise, and new high-speed quad chairlift named Broadway. Sun Valley has terrain for everyone from the beginner slopes over on Dollar to the leg burners on Baldy as well as plenty off mountain activities to keep everyone entertained no matter how long your stay.”

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In McCall: 2025 Bring Back Biathlon.

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Video: Idaho’s Impossible Rainforest. JWR’s Comments:  Though the commentator oversimplifies much of the history of the region, he does make some valid points. He also glosses over the fact that the B.C. government plans to kill moose, mountain lions, and bears, ostensibly to save caribou.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 27, 2025

On January 27, 1649: The English High Court of Justice found King Charles I  “…guilty of the crimes of which he had been accused, did judge him tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people of the nation, to be put to death by the severing of his head from his body.”

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January 27th 1880: Patent No. 223,898 was granted to Thomas A. Edison for “an electric lamp for giving light by incandescence.”

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In honor of the birthday of John Moses Browning (January 23rd, 1855), we are running a 10-day sale at Elk Creek Company.  This January sale is always our biggest sale of the year. These discounts range from 10% to 40%. All of our gun and knife inventory has been deeply reduced until Friday, January 31st, 2025.  Don’t miss out on these Birthday Week sale prices! By the way, if you’d like to pay in pre-1965 U.S. junk silver coins, just select “cash or check” in our automated ordering system but then divide the total for your order by 22.5 and mail us that face value in silver coins.  (Triple-wrapped in plastic in a well-padded sturdy box, insured.)  You can round down to the nearest 10 cents. For example, a $395 rifle would cost just $17.50 face value in pre-1965 quarters.

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Today’s feature article is a review penned by SurvivalBlog staffer Tom Christianson.

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We are in need of entries for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 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.

AGI Survival Gunsmithing Course, by Thomas Christianson

American Gunsmithing Institute’s (AGI’s) Survival Gunsmithing course consists of more than 10 hours of instruction on three DVDs. The course covers a total of 36 topics that are useful in a survival context such as “Repairing a Crown in the Field”, “Repairing a Broken Stock”, “Caching Firearms and Supplies”, and “Using a Lee Loader”.

The instruction is engaging, relevant, well-illustrated, and reflects a wealth of real-life experience. It begins at a basic level, and provides helpful, practical advice. This course costs $397.

If you would like a thorough introduction to the gunsmithing skills that might enhance your ability to survive in a desperate situation, this course might be helpful to you.

As AGI says, “This informaton applies to just about any survival situation involving firearms. From a hunting trip gone bad, or a plane gone down in the remote bush, to an economic crash or an extreme ‘grid down’ situation.”

Full Disclosure: AGI is one of the long-time prize sponsors of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. At the time of this writing, AGI’s prize is a $300 certificate good toward any of AGI’s DVD training courses.Continue reading“AGI Survival Gunsmithing Course, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Einkorn pancake and waffle batter is from reader Sherry A.  She writes:

“My husband wanted me to send in this recipe for Einkorn pancakes. He is my bread-maker, firewood-chopping, God-fearing loving husband. He is retired and I still work, and I always joke I’m never going to retire else he will work me to death.  These pancakes actually taste like a dessert and my sweet tooth loves them. May you be filled with God’s precious love and peace. – Sherry A., — Welder and Gammy Girl”

Ingredients
  • 3 cups flour (Einkorn flour or wheat flour)
  • 2 cups of milk (give or take, depending on the batter consistency you prefer)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbs butter or oil
  • 4 tbsp coconut palm sugar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup cooked pumpkin
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
Directions

Mix all together and cook away!

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic:  World Population Density, as of 2020, based on UN data from 2022. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)

The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

 

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Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The supply of gold is governed by nature; it is not, like the supply of paper money, subject merely to the schemes of demagogues or the whims of politicians. Nobody ever thinks he has quite enough money. Once the idea is accepted that money is something whose supply is determined simply by the printing press, it becomes impossible for the politicians in power to resist the constant demands for further inflation.” – Henry Hazlitt

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 26, 2025

On January  26,1907, the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) Mk III rifle was officially introduced into British Military Service. It is the world’s second-oldest military rifle with still-issued variants.

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Today is the anniversary of the 2016 shooting death of LaVoy Finicum, during the Malheur Wildlife Refuge standoff.

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And on January 26, 2019, the Chew Valley Hoard of 2,528 silver coins from the Norman conquest was found near Bath. It was the highest-value treasure find ever in England, valued at £4.3 mliion (USD $5.6 million).

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $250 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. A Laptop EMP Shield and a Smartphone Faraday Bag (a combined value of $200), courtesy of MobileSecSolutions.com.
  4. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 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.

Prepper Envy, by 3AD Scout

What is Prepper Envy? Prepper envy is when one Prepper looks at the preps of another Prepper and becomes jealous. Just looking at the comment sections of a Prepper YouTube channel or in Prepper blogs with comment sections will establish this phenomenon. Prepper Envy can become a psychological roadblock that prevents people from being better prepared. Do you have Prepper Envy? What can be done to overcome this self-imposed artificial hurdle to becoming better prepared?

We all start with one step

Regardless of the motivation to prepare, all Preppers, regardless of our demographics, started by taking some type of initial step to prepare. That step could have been putting a case of water or toilet paper away, taking a self-defense course, assembling a bug-out bag, reading a book such as JWR’s How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It, or any number of other actions. We all started out our prepping on an even keel but our first step had to start with some type of action. If you have ever seen the start of a marathon race, you know that some runners are closer to the start line while others can be several yards back. The start of our prepping marathon is the same way. We all have different skills and abilities. If you were running a marathon as a complete novice would you expect to keep up with a professional marathon runner with numerous wins under their belt? Probably not, but then why should we expect to prepare like others, especially preppers who have been preparing for decades?

it is about the destination

Walking or running makes no difference, it is about the destination. We have all heard that “preparedness is a journey” and that “preparedness is not a sprint but a marathon.” In today’s world of instant gratification, people want to spend $20 and be done so they can go back to watching “the game” or back to playing a video game. Succumbing to instant gratification when in comes to your future survival, only tricks your mind into thinking you are prepared. Some Preppers create psychological “roadblocks” based on demographics such as race, gender, education, wealth, disability, et cetera. That is not to say that demographics do not impact the way you prepare. But viewing a demographic challenge as a roadblock, versus as a hurdle, only provides a psychological excuse not to move forward to prepare. It is my summation that Preppers, who have to overcome hurdles, are actually better prepared than those who just solve an issue by opening their wallet.Continue reading“Prepper Envy, by 3AD Scout”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

America Is Now Fully Unburdened By What Has Been

News Link:

Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff spotted grocery shopping amid marriage trouble rumours. But her plastic bag grabs attention.

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.