Letter Re: Some Harsh Lessons of Beekeeping, by Keith K.

To the Editor;

Keith K. was absolutely correct in that if one is considering keeping bees as a TEOTWAWKI pollinating vector and food supply (honey), there should be an innate interest present before devoting time and effort to the project. I fully realize that there should be more initial motivation than just consideration of a cost/benefit analysis before entering into the hobby of beekeeping. Specifically, the overall homestead health and sustainability must be considered to see whether beekeeping would be a good fit for daily life and upkeep. We will all respond in relation to our own skills and gifts in a post-SHTF homesteading situation, and if beekeeping is not an interest of yours, then work towards optimizing your own surroundings in your own way. As a backyard beekeeping enthusiast myself, I think often about how to continue my own hives post-collapse as a method of food production and garden/crop pollination. Along with my standard preps, I find it not an additional burden to stockpile sufficient supplies to keep my hives running smoothly whether society is functioning or not. Further, I am learning how to build my own hive systems (using hand tools) and raising my own queen bees which will allow me to barter with other budding beekeepers post-collapse. Due to my home’s placement adjacent to a number of undisturbed meadows, I have found my honey production to be very acceptable (160 lbs from one hive last season). Once a post-collapse economy is initiated, honey as a food source will make a beekeeper a valuable resource (see the book Enforcing Home by A. American). Overall, in order to make beekeeping an integral component of my post-SHTF homesteading plans, I rely on my strong interest and love for these amazing creatures, and my wonder at the bounty they provide. – SF in VT

News From The American Redoubt:

Here is just one more reason why it is inevitable that Eastern Washington will ask for partition from the Left Coast.

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Once again, the American Redoubt States rank well.

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The falfiles.com has a post with a decent background on what’s going on in Oregon right now.

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More background on the conflict in Oregon:

Where there’s smoke – B.B.
Militia takes over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters – B.B.
TalkNetwork.com’s Pete Santilli streaming LIVE from the Hammond family constitutional crisis event in Oregon – RBS

And, of course, the liberal/progressive point of view: #OregonUnderAttack: People slam lack of govt action after Bundy’s militia takeover in Oregon

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SurvivalBlog has many concerns over this fiasco that is formulating right now. We agree with the core issues at stake: The Federal government land grabs and abuses of power, minimizing the states rights, and the underhanded practice of intimidating citizens to effect their desired response are among them. The grievances are stacking up. However, we also have grave concerns over the actions of the Bundys and the militias. The Hammonds clearly don’t want this battle and, in fact, have already turned themselves into the California Prison. The Bundys have forcefully occupied a federal compound, baiting an armed response. Mike Vanderboegh’s blog (which we linked to yesterday) sums up our concerns rather well. The Bundys are bound and determined to bring the fight to the Federal government, and they are attempting to drag every patriot into the battle with them whether you agree with them or not. Unfortunately, their tactics are not morally sound. I fear that in attempting to recreate the circumstances of the American Revolution, they are instead recreating the French Revolution. We encourage fellow patriots not to flock to Oregon, where you would be considered outsiders and not entirely welcome by the local population, but instead, prepare in your local area where your strengths are. The fight may be coming to you. Continue to pray that the Federal government does not end this in a Waco-style assault.

Economics and Investing:

Saudi-Iran Dispute Won’t Cause Lasting Oil Price Rally

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Wall Street Journal: 7% Fall in the Chinese Market Triggered Closure for the Day – T.A.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

Rand Paul: Here’s Why We Should Audit the Fed (Business Insider) Excerpt: “It is no secret that the Federal Reserve’s unchecked printing press causes recessions and increases income inequality. Allowing the Fed to inflate our money supply will artificially keep interests rates low, but at what cost? Their acts can no longer go unchecked…”

The Rise of the Zombie Earmark (Taxpayers for Common Sense) The key to a change in behavior is the CHANGE in BEHAVIOR. It’s not about imposing new rules only to find ways to work around them! It is about making a sincere and determined decision to change course and then following through on that choice. Excerpt: “When Congress banned earmarks in 2011, House Speaker John Boehner said stripping lawmakers’ ability to direct federal dollars to their pet projects was a “critical step to restore public trust.” But nearly five years later, members of Congress have found stealthy ways to load up defense spending bills with scores of provisions propping up programs the military didn’t request and doesn’t want — while also allowing some earmarks from decades past to live on.”

International News

Greece Warns Creditors on “Unreasonable Demands” Over Pensions (Financial Times) Excerpt: “He stressed that the economy would not withstand a repeat of the 2015 stand-off that pushed the country to the brink of a eurozone exit and financial collapse.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Recognize the Signs of Discontentment (Stewardship Central) Although this article was written with churches in mind, the message is also a very important one for individual households. Excerpt: “There’s one issue in particular that, if not dealt with, makes the proper handling of money almost impossible. That issue is discontentment. And it’s a great place to start the money conversation.”

How the Medical Code Overhaul Will Affect You (Market Watch) Be aware of the changes coming and anticipate that more time will be dedicated to your insurance and payment of any money due than will be invested in time with your healthcare professional. Excerpt: “Your doctor and medical staff may get crankier. Your health insurance claims may be denied or delayed. You could be pressured to pay health care balances in full, rather than over time. Welcome to the new world of medical coding that took effect Oct. 1, 2015.”

Monthly Spending Worksheet (Frugal Living) A simple tool well worth using to sort out where your money is going and how to manage it more effectively. Even for those among us who are proactively financially disciplined, a review and refresher of the ways in which we spend money is a good idea!

The Jury Duty Scam (Identity Theft Resource Center) Spoiler Alert: Do not make payments over the phone. Here’s How It Works: “Callers posing as sheriff’s deputies reach out to individuals at random to inform them that they have failed to appear for jury duty, and have therefore had a contempt judgment levied against them. The deputies then offer to accept payment over the phone for the fine.”

Odds ‘n Sods:

Doctors can report some mentally ill patients to FBI under new gun control rule – JBG

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Reader P.S sent in this link to a “Graduation-rate Estimator”. For communities that are fairly well in the middle, it does a pretty good job of estimating graduation rates from high school. However, as you move towards the ends of the spectrum, it has trouble. It is possible on the estimator to get better than 100% graduation simply by paying your teachers more than anywhere else. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a tool to help you decide where to relocate, this might help. Of course a far better concept is to find what areas are supportive of homeschooling or private schooling.

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Obama releases details of his planned “executive orders” on gun control: White House Will Require Background Checks at Gun Shows and Online I noticed plenty of “talking points” keywords, such as “gun show loophole”, “common sense”, and “The majority support it.” Of course all of the talking points are distortions of known facts, and the report actually ends with the statement that none of these actions would have actually stopped any of the violence this last year.

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Obama is the #1 gun salesperson ever! – 2015: The Year of the Gun. The FBI reports an all-time record number of background checks processed. – Sent in by RBS

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From the Desk of Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog Editor At Large:
Widener’s still has some M44 Mosin Nagant carbines available. These were re-arsenaled post WWII. The ones I just received were in much better shape than described, clean, operated smoothly, and shot accurately. If you are not familiar with this series of rifles, they are tough, reliable, easy to maintain and accessorize (though there’s no real need to), have sufficient power for most animals on the North American continent, and use ammo that is readily available both commercially and surplus, being still in production for Russian machine guns.

As there will be no imports of Russian weapons for the foreseeable future and because numbers are dwindling, they are also a worthwhile investment with potential for appreciation.

I have no financial interest in Widener’s but am a regular customer. I have found them to be professional, courteous, and to deliver excellent product at fair prices.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“We’re developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won’t be able to think.” – Rod Serling

Annual Reminder: The Ten Cent Challenge

I only post one reminder each year about Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions, and this is it. Unlike the whining leftist hand-wringers at PBS, I don’t do endless pledge drives.

I depend on my readers to help pay the bills to keep SurvivalBlog up and running. Our web hosting on a dedicated server costs $650 per month, and our local ISP bill is $135 per month. We also have a salaried Managing Editor, a paid Product Review Editor, and other expenses including liability insurance, phone bills, computer hardware, software, accounting, subscriptions, writing contest Honorable Mention prizes, and so forth.

My appeal is simple: If you feel that you get more than 10 cents per day in value from reading SurvivalBlog, then please make a voluntary subscription payment, for 10 cents a day. (That’s $36.50 for a year.)

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The Silver Dimes Option I also take payment for subscriptions in the form of pre-1965 U.S. silver dimes. The current multiplier for silver is around 20-to-1. (20 times face value–so a silver dime is worth about $2.00.) But since mass inflation looks inevitable, I expect that the value of a silver dime will soon exceed $10. So please just send three silver dimes for each year’s subscription. OBTW, it is best to tape them to a scrap 3?x5? card before placing them in an envelope, so that the coins don’t rattle around. And of course check with your postal clerk for the correct postage.

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Notes for Monday – January 04, 2016

January 4th is the birthday of George Hyde, who was born “Heide” in 1888, in Arpfingen, Germany. He was the chief gun designer for the Inland Division of General Motors (GM) in Dayton, Ohio during World War II. Hyde was best-known as the co-designer of the M3 “Grease gun” SMG and the Liberator pistol, but he also designed the Bendix-Hyde Carbine and the M2 Hyde submachinegun. He immigrated to the United States in 1927. A gent at the Nitro Express Forumsmentioned some details on his life before World War II: Before 1935 Hyde was the shop foreman and metal man at Griffin & Howe. He quit there and went into business for himself. Samuel A. “Harry” Leonard teamed up with Hyde, and their rifles are marked “Leonard & Hyde New York” on the barrel. In May of 1935 [school teacher and New York National Guard Major N.H.] Ned Roberts and his father-in-law [well-known carte-de-visite photographer] W.G.C. Kimball went into business together as “Roberts and Kimball” in Woburn, Massachusetts. Their idea was to make high-quality sporting and varmint rifles on Mauser actions in the then-popular cartridge that bears Roberts’ name, the .257 Roberts. Metal work on these Roberts & Kimball guns was done by George Hyde, and the stocking was done by Harry Leonard. Some information suggests that Leonard and Hyde did not relocate to Massachusetts but that the work was sent to them in New York City. Roberts & Kimball company lasted less than a year, and their rifles are not found very often.

Pat Cascio’s Product Review: MagPul D60 AR Magazine

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I’ve seen it, not a few times and not a hundred times but thousands of times, while in gun shops all over the country. A person will lay down a large sum of money for a high-end firearm of some type and then ask the clerk behind the gun shop counter, “Do you have any cheap magazines for this gun?” Are you kidding me? The same goes when it comes to buying a holster for that new 1911 that cost a guy two grand. He’ll buy a $20 generic nylon holster to go on his ultra-thin dress belt! I just don’t get it. I really don’t!

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Many people mistakenly believe that any old magazines will work in their guns, so they opt to buy whatever is least expensive, stupidly thinking that all magazines are created equal. I still remember, just prior to the 1994 assault weapon and hi-cap magazine ban taking place, when there were a number of fly-by-night companies turning out magazines that held more than 10-rds as fast as they could. They were so ashamed of their own products that they didn’t even stamp their names on the magazines.

I fell victim several times to some of these no-name magazines. I purchased a couple dozen Ruger Mini-14, 30-rd magazines, via mail order. To be sure, they were not made by Ruger or any other company that I could identify. The magazines were crudely assembled, and they were not heat treated. If you dropped one of these magazines on the feed lips, the lips would bend. I also fell prey to another after-market magazine scam. Just prior to the 1994 assault weapon and hi-cap mag ban taking place, I found an outfit that had “genuine” GLOCK 19 15-rd magazines for only $5 each. I should have known better. I was assured by the person on the other end of the phone that these were genuine GLOCK magazines. When they, several dozen of them, arrived, they were simple plastic magazines that resembled GLOCK magazines. There was no metal lining, and to be sure they were junk. Not a one would function. I used them for a lot of years in some of my handgun classes to teach malfunction drills.

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As a rule, it’s just hard to beat factory– Original Equipment Manufactured (OEM)– magazines. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and that is buying magazines from makers that supply factory mags to gun makers, like MecGar and Metal Form magazines, to name a couple. These two companies produce outstanding “after market” magazines, which I’ve had no problems with. Many of the mags for my 1911s are from MecGar and Metal Form. They make mags for many of the big name 1911 makers.

When it comes to AR-15 magazines, I can’t begin to tell you how many different makers there are of these particular types of magazines. Some AR-15 mags are better than others, as it is with all things. Some are advertised as being “mil-spec”, and that doesn’t exactly tickle my fancy. It just means that those mags are built to the bare military specifications required by the military. There are also aluminum, stainless steel, and polymer AR-15 magazines. I steer clear of some of the polymer AR mags, like ProMag, because I’ve found they aren’t reliable in my testing. To be sure, if a name isn’t found on the magazine, then you should steer clear of it, period!

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Shortly after the Sandy Hook shooting a few years back, one particular mail-order company was absolutely taking advantage of people who were seeking 30-rd AR-15 magazines. They were advertising “genuine” Colt 30-rd AR-15 magazines for a mere $99.97 each! First of all, there was no way of knowing if these were genuine Colt. Just because the floor plates had the Colt name and logo on them doesn’t mean that the rest of the magazine was Colt. They were not in any original packaging. Floor plates are easy enough to change. Be advised! Also, be aware of factory rebuilt “genuine” mil-spec mags that you’ll find at gun shows, packaged in plastic, with some kind of NSN (National Stock Number) printed on a piece of paper inside the plastic bag with the mag. To my knowledge, the military does NOT rebuild magazines. They discard them when they start giving feeding problems.

When it comes to AR-15 magazines, I prefer, above all others, those polymer mags from MagPul. I’ve found them to be of the highest quality, and I’ve yet to have them fail on me. I like the dual feed design that allows rounds to feed smoothly into M4 feed ramped ARs. I also like that you can store MagPul 30-rd mags, fully loaded, with the storage cap on the mags, so there is no pressure on the feed lips. Plus, over the years, MagPul has made several improvements on their AR-15 mags, making each generation a little bit better than the previous one.

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The nice folks at US Tactical Supply contacted me just before Christmas and asked me if I wanted to test the new MagPul D60 drum magazine that holds 60-rds of .223/5.56 ammo. Well, needless to say, I beat feet to Albany, OR to pick up a sample for this article. Of course, we had the wettest December on record in Western Oregon, so my range time was limited and I also vowed to take some time off to enjoy the holiday. So, it was a while before I actually got out and did much shooting and testing on this MagPul D60 drum magazine.

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This new mag from MagPul is made primarily out of polymer, and it appears to be the same tough stuff that their regular polymer mags are made out of. Of course, we have the metal spring and a few other minor parts that are made out of metal. However, the body of the magazine is flat black polymer material. The magazine slides in and out of my ARs without any problems; it’s smooth, real smooth! Also, it locks in place, without having to force it, even when the magazine is completely full. Some AR-15 magazines have to be forcefully driven home when they are fully loaded and on a closed bolt. That’s not so with the D60 magazine.

There is a small, clear viewing window on the back of the magazine to give you an idea of how many rounds are in the mag. There is also a ratcheting loading lever that you have to use in order to load roads into the D60. Without using this lever, you’ll never get the magazine loaded. Even with the lever, the magazine is a bit hard to load. It’s not a magazine you can load in a hurry. This is the mag you load and keep in your AR, ready for action, and 60-rds on-tap should be enough to keep the bad guy’s heads down so you can find cover and then reload with some of your 30-rd mags. Once again, this mag takes some time to load-up, but it is well worth it.

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I tested the MagPul D60 drum mag in four different ARs– one from Ruger (their outstanding AR-556), Bushmaster AR with polymer upper and lower, Windham Weaponry, and one from a local Oregon company called Rogue Defense. Due to the time it took to load-up the D60 mag, I only ran one magazine full– 60-rds– through each of the above ARs. However, I had a great assortment of ammo from Black Hills Ammunition  to mix in the magazine. In .223, I had their 50-gr Hornady V-Max, 52-gr Match Hollow Point, 55-gr FMJ (new and reman ammo), 55-gr Soft Point, 60-gr Soft Point, and 68-gr Heavy Match Hollow Point. I also had their 5.56mm 69-gr OTM and their 77-gr OTM.

I mixed the above ammo in each magazine. I simply dumped the above ammo from their factory boxes into one big box, stirred the ammo up, and proceeded to load the magazine. I did this four times from this mix of various types and weights of ammo from Black Hills Ammunition. I figured this would be an excellent test for the D60 to run through.

I had zero malfunctions, with any of the ARs I was using and all the ammo, no matter what kind it was, fed smoothly. You will readily notice that this MagPul D60 drum really feeds ultra-smoothly in your AR. To be sure, your AR barrel will really heat up when you fire 60-rds through it as fast as you can pull the trigger.

Needless to say, it was tiring to load-up the D60 four different times; however, after a while, I got some kind of rhythm to my loading, and it went a bit faster as time went by. Still, this isn’t a magazine designed to be rapidly reloaded, nor was it meant to be. As I mentioned, this is the magazine you load-up and stick in your AR for an initial combat engagement, and 60-rds should be enough to keep the bad guys’ heads down, so you can seek cover to reload and reengage if need be. This is the magazine I keep in my bedroom AR– the first gun I’ll reach for when things go bad. It’s kinda hard to beat 60-rds of ammo on-tap for your initial engagement, eh?

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Please check out the US Tactical Supply website and their new 2016 online catalog. They are great people to do business with– a small, family-owned company who provide outstanding customer service, and they go out of their way to carry as many USA-made products as possible, and the MagPul D60 is made in the USA, to be sure. With the current administration seeking to end all private gun ownership, now might be the perfect time to lay claim to one or two of these D60 drum magazines. Get ‘em while you still can!

– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio

Recipe of the Week: Minted Grape Juice with a Tart Lime Accent, by T.A.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large White Grape Juice, usual large plastic container
  • 1 generous handful mint leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 3 medium juicy green Limes, sliced thinly

Directions:

  1. Pour off about 1 cup of the grape juice to make room to add your coarsely chopped mint leaves.
  2. Add thinly sliced limes.
  3. Replace the cap and then rock your grape juice bottle back and forth to circulate the juice in and around the mint leaves and lime slices.
  4. Refrigerate overnight to incorporate the flavors.
  5. Pour into serving cups or pitcher through a screen sieve that’s fine enough to catch the mint leaves and lime slices.

Enjoy!

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Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:
Robb’s Homemade Life has posted a Video on DIY Veggie “Beef” Burger made from storage foods (with a “secret” ingredient).

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Letter Re: Windstorm

Jim/Hugh

After the 17-Nov windstorm, we lost power for five days, having similar damages and drama in the article by ShepherdFarmerGeek! Thank you UTAH Power for driving 40 hours to help Avista out!

  • Now we keep two turkey fryer pots of water on the woodstove for hot water and extra radiant heat between firings. Oh, we leave our tin can of used chicken egg shells on the stove instead of the kitchen window so they dry crispy and are easy to crush.
  • We installed a Lux Bidet on the toilet two years ago, which has cut our TP usage by 95%! No more stockpiling TP, use washable cloths like I did in the middle east!
  • The water pump for the house: I wired it into an Outback UPS, so we can flush and wash for days. When the power goes out, having running water is a MAJOR PLUS for the Missus during those critical “normalcy bias adjustment minutes.” I fire up the generator with less urgency.
  • Those cheap solar lanterns placed in the house are a great place to fully drain your disposable AA batteries. We have mostly switched to Eneloops.
  • Christmas LED strings are left hanging in the living room, since they use five watts and are fun.
  • My VHF antenna blew over because I thought I was living in a wind-free zone after moving here to Idaho three years ago from SC. After this wind storm, my policy has changed to “you better tether”, including metal roofing edges! Hurricane studies show that metal roofing peels off because you leave them un-screwed along the edges. Get your DeWalt out and do the “tighten up!”
  • As soon as we lose power, out comes the blankets and they get draped on the fridges. We have been leaving the chest freezer covered since last year. It runs less.

– K&K

Economics and Investing:

FUTURE MONEY TRENDS: Silver Will Break $50 In 2016

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New Year begins with record number of men not in the labor force: Those not in the labor force increased by 1.9 million last year while the labor force increased by only 1.1 million.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

New Year Begins with a Record Number of Men NOT In the Labor Force (My Budget 360) Excerpt: “Employment, income, and financial prosperity are the most important issues for Americans. It is ironic that in 2008 the election was driven largely by the economy. It is very likely to be driven again by the same thing now that it is official that the middle class is a minority. Keep an eye out on the labor force participation rate.”

Law Enforcement Groups Cry Foul After Congress Seizes Money from Controversial Forfeiture Fund (CNS News) One word for this: WRONG. Excerpt: “In short, law enforcement agencies have grown dependent on civil forfeiture revenues, with the inevitable result being that agencies end up seizing property from property owners who are wholly innocent.”

Puerto Rico is in SERIOUS TROUBLE. (Huffington Post) Be careful from whom you borrow and under what terms… Excerpt: “Puerto Rico’s terms of repayment are particularly onerous because so much of its debt is now controlled by big U.S. hedge funds.”

International News

How a Demographic Time Bomb Will Transform the Global Economy (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “Japan’s population is now projected to shrink from around 126m today to 87m in 50 years’ time. At this rate, there will be no one left by 2500.”

Portugal: Europe’s Next Greece? (Outside the Beltway) Excerpt: “With much of Europe worried about terrorism and refugees, there hasn’t been much attention paid to the financial issues that have gripped many of the continents weaker members, but that may be about to change thanks to Portugal…”

Greek Central Banker Urges Government on Bailout Reforms (Reuters) Excerpt: “Greece’s central bank chief has urged the leftist-led government to implement bailout reforms agreed with the country’s lenders, warning that backtracking would entail risks the economy could not withstand.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

10 Reasons Why You Should Switch to Linux (It’s F.O.S.S.) #1 Reason: It’s FREE! We switched all of our computers to Linux some time ago, for several reasons, including the fact that Linux is almost maintenance free, works on older computers, is very fast, and the software is…free!

Odds ‘n Sods:

More details are beginning to emerge on the Oregon situation:
Reader A.L. sent in this link to Mike Vanderboegh’s blog: No more free Wacos.
Reader Joe K. sent in the link to Oathkeepers official statement: The Hammond Family Does NOT Want an Armed Stand Off, and Nobody Has a Right to Force One On Them.

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A very good article about collectivism and freedom: One American’s Rage Spills Over: Dear Liberal… Here’s Why I’m So Hostile – L.A.

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Those who have tangled with the American justice system know that it should not be confused with justice. Reader D.S. sent in this link: America’s criminal justice system is a hoax.

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China enters the fray in the middle east: Pentagon Stunned As Thousands Of Chinese Troops Enter ISIS War – M.T.

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The Looming Environmental Disaster In Missouri That Nobody Is Talking About. – What happens when an underground landfill fire comes into contact with waste from the Manhattan Project? – T.P.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“It is in the free market that self-interest finds its finest expression; that is a cardinal point in individualism. If the market is regularly raided, by robbers or the government, and the safety of property is impaired, the individual loses interest in production, and the abundance of things men live by shrinks. Hence, it is for the good of society that self-interest in the economic sphere be allowed to operate without hindrance.” – Frank Chodorov

Important Provisos For SurvivalBlog Readers

(Please Read This!)

SurvivalBlog, a private information service, is obliged to post some disclaimers and provisos, annually. These notices are current as of January 1, 2016 and remain in force unless later specifically revoked or modified by the Editor.

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(Yes, it ends with .to, since it is a Tonga domain.) Be sure to include your e-mail address, phone number, and the best time to schedule the call in your online payment instructions.

You can also send pre-payment for hours of consulting (in 30 minute increments) via U.S. Postal Service Money Orders, “Forever ” postage stamps, or personal check.

On the advice of my attorney, I never have and will not ever discuss any potentially criminal activities, such as bomb making, poaching, poisons/toxins, fully automatic firearms conversions, active insurrection, coups, or firearms suppressor (“silencer”) construction. If you raise any such topics, then I will immediately terminate the consulting call-–no exceptions.

Not a Doctor or Attorney

I’m not a doctor, and I don’t give medical advice. Advertisements for any medical device, treatment, drug, or food supplement is solely the responsibility of the advertiser and are in no way endorsed or accredited by SurvivalBlog.com, or its principals. SurvivalBlog.com is not responsible for the use or misuse of any product advertised on this blog site.

I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t give legal advice. The laws, regulations, and case citations contained within this blog do not constitute legal advice. Laws change frequently. Consult a lawyer if you have legal questions. If you choose to act upon the details cited in the blog without doing your own research, then you do so at your own risk.

Many Voices

In part because SurvivalBlog has many contributing authors, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or reliability of what is published in the blog. Consider it only one of many sources of information that you must test against standard references and compare against your local climate and conditions, as well as your local laws. (See: “Accuracy, Safety, and Legality,” below.)

No Social Networking Presence

Please refrain from trying to get me to join Twitter, LinkedIn, or any of the other social media networks. I get more than 150 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 don’t respond to any of these requests.

Your Privacy

For your privacy, we do not compile or sell any lists of e-mail or snail mail addresses. Parenthetically, don’t expect me to remember what pen name you use. If you want to continue with using one pen name, then please sign all of your e-mails that way.

Right of Non-Association

SurvivalBlog.com is an entirely private information service that is my sole property made available to others as a form of free personal expression under my de jure Preamble Citizen’s right as later guaranteed in the First Article in Amendment to the Constitution. SurvivalBlog.com is not a “public accommodation” and it is preemptively exempt from any forced or coerced accommodation, via legislation (or bureaucratic interpretation thereof) or any dictate, directive, or decree by any agency of government or by any NGO or by any individual under any future “Fairness Doctrine” or similar charade. I reserve the right to refuse service (to wit: to refuse posting, linking, or mention of anyone or anything, at my sole discretion) to any person, agency, corporation, or other entity. I make these reservations for the sake of maintaining sound business practices, competitiveness, and to maintain my moral and religious principles.

My Agent

My literary agent is Robert Gottlieb, the Chairman of Trident Media Group. He handles all inquiries on publishing, licensing, foreign translations, and motion picture rights.

Links and Quotes

Our links to articles at third party web sites are offered for informational purposes only. These links are most often at the suggestion of individual SurvivalBlog readers. Not every link is checked in detail. We are not responsible for updating links that have become obsolete at third party sites. The authenticity, political persuasion, morality, and religious standpoint of those articles and any other articles housed at those sites are not necessarily endorsed by the editors of SurvivalBlog. A link on SurvivalBlog does not constitute an endorsement!

At SurvivalBlog we err on the side of linking rather than quoting. Not only does this make SurvivalBlog quicker to read, but it also keeps us well within the standards of “Fair Use” for quotations. All articles that are quoted, re-posted or linked are done so with great discretion and out of genuine professional courtesy under the doctrine of Fair Use, with legal precedent dating to the Statute of Anne of 1709, and confirmed by the doctrine of “Fairness Abridgement” in Gyles v Wilcox (1740) and later codified under 17 U.S.C. § 107.

Accuracy, Safety, and Legality

The content of this blog site is not guaranteed for accuracy, reliability, safety, or legality in all jurisdictions. It is presented for educational purposes only. You are responsible for your own actions. This includes your stupidity or carelessness. Refer to manufacturer documentation for safety and dosing information. Consult a locally-licensed attorney to check on the legality of the devices, formulas, and practices mentioned in SurvivalBlog in your locale. Do not write me to ask for legal advice!

SurvivalBlog is All Free, But Copyrighted

The content of this blog site is free to access but copyrighted. Permission to use up to 800-word excerpts is summarily granted (no need to e-mail me for permission) but only if you include full attribution–most notably a link to the survivalblog.com URL.

About Our Privacy

I was under strict orders from the late Memsahib to keep the location of the Rawles Ranch private. All that I can say is that it is “Somewhere West of the Rockies.” Nor can I mention the names of my children. I’m sure that you can understand the security concerns that go along with our survival preparations.