News From The American Redoubt:

Now it’s Oregon Senate’s turn to vote on gun laws. If the ban on private party gun sales is enacted, it may prove to be “The last straw” and trigger a partition of the conservative counties east of the Cascades.

   o o o

Errant gunshot’s shrapnel wounds two men at Idaho gun show.

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Ban Idaho! (Thanks to Ben H. for the link.)

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There are still several pro-gun pieces of legislation pending in Montana, including permitless concealed carry. Montanans should contract their representatives, to encourage the passage of these bills. The Wyoming/Arizona/Alaska/Vermont-style permitless concealed carry will require a veto-proof majority, since the state’s democrat governor vetoed the bill once before.

   o o o

Get in on the ammo-making boom: International Munitions & Technologies, Inc. (IMT) in Lewiston, Idaho is looking for both an IT Manager and a Site Leader Manager.

Economics and Investing:

This confirms my assertion: The Spot Price of Precious Metals Is Becoming Irrelevant

Pete H. sent this from Paul Farrell: 10 investing rules for the coming bond crash

The drawn out impact of quantitative easing on real estate: Japanese real estate continues to struggle while Bank of Japan expands monetary base. JWR’s Comment: Back in the 1930s, folk comedian Will Rogers was famous for saying: “Buy land: They ain’t making any more of it.” The modern-day corollary is: “Avoid Dollars: They can make as many of them as they want to.”

Items from The Economatrix:

Jim Willie: Physical Gold Premiums Will Be $500 Or More In The Near Future, Silver 40%; Dealers Sold Out

World Finance Leaders Issue Somber Assessment

Jobless Claims Rise Slightly

SurvivalBlog’s G.G. sent: Douglas County Bank, Georgia, Biggest Bank Failure of 2013.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Stopping the Common Core curriculum freight train

   o o o

A clever new product with a seven year shelf life: New Ovaeasy Pop and Cook Eggs at CampingSurvival.com. You can order them here.

   o o o

Today Marcus Hook Pennsylvania Mayor James “Jay” Schiliro is scheduled to get his first day in court. He is one of many hypocritical members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns who is in serious trouble with the law. In his case it was providing alcohol to someone under 21, attempted homosexual seduction, and unlawful imprisonment, at gunpoint. Mayor Bloomberg certainly has collected a motley assortment of criminals and pervs for his “crime fighting” anti-gun political pressure group. It is time for a counterbalance: Citizens Against Illegal Mayors.

   o o o

Michael M. sent: Marijuana Laws New Tool to Ban Gun Ownership

   o o o

Two more bits of evidence that California is truly a lost cause: Boy suspended for having pocket knife on camping trip and California lawmakers weigh first statewide ban on lead ammo

Notes from JWR:

Ready Made Resources just started a 25% off sale on Mountain House canned long term storage foods. Check it out!

—

The volatility in the precious metals markets is continuing, with some dramatic intra-day swings in spot prices. My long-standing advice has been “buy on a dip day”, but perhaps presently it should be: buy on a dip hour. Once silver resumes its bull charge–past $30 and then the $40 per troy ounce, you will be glad that you “bought low.” OBTW, sales have been very strong for the new American Redoubt .999 fine silver coin. These very attractive 1-ounce coins are produced by Mulligan Mint and and are being sold at a very competitive market price. Because of the huge rush of orders created by the big market dip (down 20% in recent weeks), all of the mints are getting slammed with orders. (Even the U.S. Mint had to suspend some sales.) You can expect at least a five week delay from most mints, at present. Be patient, and keep stacking silver.

—

A reminder: There is a May 1st strike on the banks planned. If you want to participate, I recommend that you withdraw your extra cash and buy tangibles!

Pat’s Product Review: Ruger SR556E

I’ve always been a big fan of Ruger firearms – all of them! There’s many reasons for my liking Ruger firearms, first of all, I find their firearms robust, strong and well-designed. Ruger doesn’t simply copy some other designs for the most part – instead, they are innovators in many ways. I still remember when the first Ruger P-85 9mm handguns came out, and everyone thought they wouldn’t last because they were made from “investment casting” aluminum frames- Ruger proved everyone wrong.
 
A few years ago, I tested the Ruger SR556 piston-driven AR-style rifle, and loved it. Everyone was jumping on the piston-driven AR bandwagon, and Ruger was no different, they than they didn’t copy anyone else’s piston-driven design – they came up with their own, after a lot of research and development. The SR556 comes with all the bells and whistles you can ask for, and then some – including a nice padded carrying case, several MagPul PMags – which I personally believe are the best AR mags on the market, and top-of-the-line pop-up front and rear sights and many other accessories, that don’t come on many AR-style rifles.
 
However, not everyone wanted or needed all that the SR556 came with as standard equipment, nor was everyone willing to pay the almost $2,000 price tag. Now comes the Ruger SR556E. Many people mistakenly believe that the “E” stands for an “Economy” model, but that is NOT the case. For the past several months, I have been testing the SR556E sample, and I have found nothing economical about this neat little rifle. What we have is a 5.56mm carbine, that can also fire .223 Remington ammo. The gun only weighs-in at a mere 7.36-pounds, a bit lighter and it balances better than the SR556 does in my humble opinion.  The SR556E also comes with a 16-inch cold hammer forged mil-spec 41V45 barrel with a flash suppressor on the end of the barrel. There is also a 6-position telescoping stock – closed the gun is 32.75-inches long and fully-open the gun is 36-inches in length. The flat top upper also has a forearm that has a Picatinny rail for mounting accessories at the 12:00 O’clock position and you can add other rails to the 3, 6 and 9 positions and these are sold separately. There is also a dust cover over the ejection port, and a forward assist – that I never recommend anyone use – it only leads to more problems, but it’s there just the same.The SR556E also comes with a soft padded carrying case.
 
I like the MagPul (I believe that’s the make) pop-up rapid deployment front and rear sights – they are outstanding. The front sight is adjustable for elevation and the rear sight is adjustable for windage. Where one would normally find the gas block for a direct impingement operating system, we have the patent-pending 4-position gas regulator. That’s right, this is NOT a direct gas impingement gun, it has a two-stage piston system that is chrome plated for easier maintenance, and the hot gases vent out of the bottom on this two-stage piston, causing the gun to run cleaner and cooler, and that is a very good thing in my book. The direct gas impingement system vents dirty, hot gases directly into the bolt and bolt carrier – causing guns to run dirty and very hot – not a good thing in many instances – it can lead to malfunctions if the gun isn’t properly cleaned and lubed on a regular basis – as in combat!
 
The 4-position gas regulator can also be completely closed off so the action doesn’t cycle for using a suppressor, where you don’t want any noise from the bolt cycling back and forth [or any sound of gasses escaping a gas port]. The other three positions are for running various types of ammo, and if your gun starts to run a bit dirty, you can adjust the gas regulator to a different position. Ruger ships the SR556E with the gas regulator set at the #2 position and suggests you do most of your shooting from this position. There is a complete tutorial video on the Ruger web site, that demonstrates the various settings. I left my sample on the #2 setting, and never looked back – although, I did play around with the different settings for just a bit – just to see how they function and how the gun ran – it ran fine in all but the closed position. However, for all my actual function testing and accuracy testing, the gun was left in the #2 position.
 
One thing you will readily notice with a piston-driven AR-style of rifle is the different recoil impulse. Hard to explain, but the gun runs a bit “differently” than a direct impingement operating system – it runs smoother, and it seems to run a tad quieter, too. Again, hard to explain, however if you shoot the SR556E next to a direct gas impingement rifle, you will hear and notice the difference in very short order. Now, some piston-driven AR-style rifles have had problems with “carrier tilt” – in that, the bolt carrier tends to tilt downward into the buffer tube, causing unnecessary wear and tear. Ruger overcame this problem by redesigning part of the bolt – removing some material here and there, and there isn’t any problem with carrier tilt. You might notice a little bit or wear from the anodized coating inside the buffer tube, but no actual wear on the material. Ruger did their homework – as they always do!
 
During my initial testing of the SR556E, I ran 5, thirty round magazines through the gun as fast as I could pull the trigger. When I was done, there were zero malfunctions, and I broke the action open and pulled the bolt carrier out – it was cool to the touch. Try that with a direct impingement AR and you’ll burn your fingers after just running one 30-rd mag through the gun. Additionally, the bolt carrier and bolt were still very clean – one mag through a direct impingement AR and the upper receiver and bolt carrier and bolt are dirty, very dirty – especially if you run some Russian-made .223 ammo through an AR.
 
I ran well over 500 rounds of various .223 Rem and 5.56mm ammo through the SR556E – however, in future testing, I won’t burn-up that much ammo – not with the big ammo drought we are facing, and my inside sources tell me that, they expect ammo to be in short supply for about two more years – or even longer, depending on the political climate in DC and in some states. Be advised and act accordingly. In future firearms tests, I’m only going to run about 200 rounds through gun samples. Even with my several sources of ammo for use in my articles, ammo is still hard to come by these days. My sources want to give me more, but they don’t have it – every round they make goes out the door each day – they don’t have a warehouse full of ammo any longer.
 
From Buffalo Bore Ammunition I had their Sniper .223 ammo – a 55 grain Ballistic Tip bullet, a 69 grain JHP and their heavy 77 grain JHP – which is recommended for barrel twist of 1:8 or 1:7 – the SR556E comes with a 1:9 barrel twist – the most popular for civilian AR style rifles. From the good folks at Black Hills Ammunition, I had a wide assortment of .223 – a 52 grain Match HP, 55 grain FMJ – new and reloaded, 55 grain SP, 68 grain Heavy Match HP and their newly released to the public, 5.56mm 77 grain OTM ammo – this is almost the exact same ammo that Black Hills Ammunition – and Black Hills Ammunition alone – provides to all the US Special Forces – no other maker produces this ammo. I also had a couple boxes of Winchester 55 grain FMJ USA brand .223 on-hand, and I use a lot of this for simple function testing – its a great round and less expensive than burning-up some more expensive ammo for function testing.
 
Once I had the SR566E zeroed, I did all my shooting at the 100-yard mark for accuracy testing – although the gun was zeroed for 300-yards – just my zero mark with all my AR-style of rifles. The Buffalo Bore, Black Hills and even the Winchester 55 grain FMJ loads were all giving me 3-inch groups if I did my part, with open sights, at 100-yards. This is about average for many AR-style rifles – nothing to write home about in the accuracy department. The Black Hills new and reloaded 55 grain FMJ ammo gave me the same accuracy results, so don’t go thinking you are getting slighted by using reloaded ammo instead of brand-new ammo all the time. The Black Hills 52 grain Match HP load gave me groups a little under 3-inches – better, but I knew the SR556E could do better – a lot better. I should note that the Black Hills 55 grain SP gave me 3-inch groups as well – and this would make a dandy load for varmints – even smaller dear, at close-in ranges. Although, I suggest using a larger caliber rifle round for deer – the .223 can still do the job if you place your shots where they need to go.
 
The Buffalo Bore 69 grain JHP was giving me groups right at the 2-inch mark, and I was starting to get impressed with the Ruger. The Black Hills Ammunition, 68 grain Heavy Match HP load was giving me groups around an inch and a half if I did my part – I’ve found this to be a very accurate load in all AR-style rifles I’ve tried it in. I ran out of the Buffalo Bore 69 grain JHP load, just as I was getting a good feel for it – and I believe it can match the Black Hills 68 grain Heavy Match HP load in the accuracy department.
 
Last up were the two heaviest loads, and you should be advised that, some rifles with a 1:9 barrel twist will only accurately shoot bullet weights up to about 68 or 69 grains – some will even shoot 75-grain bullets – but not all. Each gun’s barrel is a little different, and as I’ve said before in my articles, experiment with your gun and various types, brand and weights of bullets, to see which one will shoot most accurately in your gun. The Buffalo Bore 77 grain JHP and the Black Hills 77 grain OTM 5.56mm loads were both giving me groups in the 3 to 3 1/2 inch range. I honestly didn’t expect either one of those rounds to actually give me accuracy this good – considering the SR556 has the 1:9 inch barrel twist. I will admit though, that there were some groups that opened-up quite a bit more – however, I was advised by both Tim Sundles at Buffalo Bore and Jeff Hoffman at Black Hills, that it might be a waste of good ammo, shooting these heavier loads in the 1:9 barrel twist. Well, not a waste of money, but it proved to me, that in a pinch, you can shoot these heavier bullets in the 1:9 inch barrels, just don’t expect the accuracy you think you’ll get. I have fired both of these loads in another AR-style rifle with a 1:7 inch barrel twist, and had outstanding accuracy in the one inch to an inch and half range if I did my part. So, I know both of these heavier loads can shoot a lot more accurately in the right barrels, than they did in the SR556E.
 
During all my testing, I had no malfunctions of any sort. When I tested the original SR556 when it first came out, I did have a couple failures to extract in the first magazine, but after that, the gun ran fine. So, I was very pleased with the performance of the SR556E over the course of more than 3-months of testing. I never cleaned the gun during all this time, nor did I give it any further lubrication, other than the day I got the gun and inspected and lubed it. The gun was extremely clean at the end of my testing – and I believe I could have easily shot several thousand more rounds without any problems or further cleaning or lube. The SR556E with the two-stage piston-driven system really proved it’s worth and ran cleaner and cooler than direct impingement ARs do. There is no comparison between the two systems in my humble opinion. If you want a gun that runs smoother, cleaner and cooler, you need to take a close look at the SR556E, as opposed to a direct impingement operating system. Now, with that said, I’m not about to take my other ARs that are direct impingement and sell them or toss them in the trash – they all work just fine – I don’t keep guns around that don’t work – simple as that. I either make them run properly, or I get rid of them if I can’t fix the problems.
 
Now for the good news and the bad news. The good news is, the Ruger SR556E has a full-retail of only $1,375 and that’s a bargain in my book – for all that you get – there are other piston-driven ARs on the market that retail for a whole lot more, but they don’t give you more. Now for the bad news, with the big drought on all AR-style guns these days, if you can find an SR556E, they are going for about $2,000 these days. No, Ruger did not raise their prices, it’s just supply and demand, and all SR556 rifles are in great demand, ever since they came out, people have wanted them. If you’re in the market for a gas-piston AR, then take a very close look at the SR556E from Ruger – I think you’ll like what you see – just don’t pay too much – shop around and spend your money carefully. Now, after my wife shot my sample SR556E, she wants one of her own – she owns a different brand of AR-style rifle – a direct impingement version and while she shoots it very accurately, and hasn’t had any problems with it – other than a few hang-ups with some Russian-made .223 ammo – she just likes the way the SR556E handles, and she doesn’t hear that “twang” inside the buffer tube, like you hear with many direct impingement ARs – I personally don’t hear it – after so many years of shooting, I have some hearing loss. But now I have to find a way to not only pay for my own SR556E sample, I have to see if Ruger can ship me another one for the wife. I should have learned long ago, to not let my wife shoot any of my gun samples, she has fallen in love with more than one and ended up in her growing collection.  – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Harry’s Book Review: After the Snow by S.D. Crockett

Book Title: After the Snow
Author: S.D. Crockett
Copyright Date: 2012
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
ISBN: 978-0-312-64169-6
Audio, e-book or foreign translation avail? Yes–Kindle
Suitable for children? Teens probably.

When you find a story predicting that the future is another ice age you know you have found an author who is thinking outside of the box. The global warming crowd is not going to be pleased if this is our future. Not only do we get an Ice Age, but the solar farms and wind farms are a complete failure. Nuclear is king and coal is the next best alternative.

As a consolation prize, just about everyone else’s sacred cow gets gored too by the end of the novel.

The premise behind the novel is that the polar ice caps do indeed proceed to melt, but once they have an impact on the oceans the currents stop and then everything ices up.

The story revolves around Willo, a teenage boy who has only ever known the ice and snow. He has heard the stories of the graybeards. He knows that once upon a time water came out of the walls and the world was warm, but it’s all stories to him. His life is trapping hares so their pelts can be traded for oats and the supplies needed for the family to survive. His family is one of those known as “stragglers”.

Almost all of the world has been moved into the cities, and there is no going back and forth. The cities are fenced in and guarded. There is not supposed to be anyone living up in the hills, but that is where Willo’s family is, their cabin hidden by trees which grate against the walls with the wind. The author does not go into detail about how they subsist except to say that they raise goats and eat poorly. They trade the furs of the hares which Willo traps in order to get supplies. The trading is done through Geraint, a permitted farmer who has Willo’s sister Alice who Geraint got pregnant when she was fourteen.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The story opens with Willo watching his family’s empty house and him wondering what has become of them all. The family has been taken away, but there is nothing to tell him by whom or to where. Deciding that the house is not a safe place to be he loads up some essentials on a sled and heads for a cave he knows up on a mountain.

In the process of traveling to his cave he comes across a starving boy and girl in a derelict cabin. They are waiting for their father to return. Willo discovers a dead man in the barn and decides he doesn’t want the burden of two starving children. He goes on his way and camps that night in the empty cone of a downed windmill. However, he can’t shake the images of the starving children, so the next morning he goes back to get them.

Once he gets there he finds that a pack of wild dogs have found the body of the dead man. Willo is nearly killed by the dogs just trying to get into the cabin. There he finds the boy has already died, and now Willo and the girl, Mary, are trapped by the dogs. Mary doesn’t even want to leave, but Willo persuades her that they must. Although he loses his sled in the process he does manage to fend off the dogs and get away with Mary.

His goal is to take Mary down to the road which goes between the city and the coal mines so that she can get picked up by a truck and taken to the city to live. In the process Willo and Mary run into the “stealers” who live in the forest. Pursued by these cannibals Willo and Mary both end up on the road and are both picked up by a truck and taken into the city.

In the hills Willo knows what to do and how to survive, but in the city he is scared to death and doesn’t know which way to turn. Here Mary is the capable one. She leads him to a place where they can both get some food, and from there they follow a drunken rat trapper to his hidden abode.

Willo isn’t at all comfortable with the situation, and his goal is to find his family. Early in the morning he gets up and leaves Mary behind. In short order he is captured by a gang of children, but then soon freed by one of them who takes him somewhere with the goal of selling his coat so they can purchase some grog (alcohol). She abandons Willo in disgust when he makes it clear that he has not intention of exchanging his coat for grog. Eventually Willo ends up at the home of Jacob, and elderly man who Willo helped out in the streets.

Willo’s jacket is the subject of much interest to Jacob and his wife, especially when they learn that Willo made it himself. Jacob is a furrier, and he has a wealthy client who has commissioned a jacket, but Jacob is getting too old to do the work. Willo is quickly seen as a welcome addition to Jacob’s household, but Willo wants to be out looking for his family. Jacob argues for patience and suggests that Willo needs to have papers in the first place. Thus it is that Willo has to learn how to live in the city.

After living with Jacob and his wife and earning their trust Willo is shown a book which Jacob has carefully hidden under the floorboards in his house. It is a book which Willo recognizes as one his father owned, although his father’s copy lacked a cover and was held together by string. The book is titled “In Search of an Ark” by John Blovyn. The book covers such topics as making snares,tanning hides, childbirth and other survival skills. The mere possession of the book identifies one as a “straggler”, and as such, as a subversive element.

Apparently the greatly subversive message of the stragglers is one of optimism. The hope that things could get better and that one should

seek out a better place is an unacceptable message.

In the past John Blovyn had called his followers to the hills. In this book he is calling them to an island. The authorities are determined to find out where the island is, but for all their infiltration, interrogation and torture they have yet to get an answer. Nonetheless, their efforts continue undeterred.

It comes as a shock to Willo when he learns that Robin Blake was not his father’s real name, but rather John Blovyn. To make matters worse, apparently not only did his father not tell him his real name, but he didn’t love him either and was disappointed in him because he was such a “simpleton” and just wanted to run around in the hills.

Rather than spoil the entire book I will simply say that everything is the opposite of what one would expect. The renowned survival author is gone and his son rejects his hopes, choosing instead to make the most of the world at hand rather than seek out a better place.

A major theme of this book is that things are not going to turn out the way anyone expects. Chinese steel is the good stuff, and Chinatown is where the wealthy live. The premium real estate on the planet is Africa. “Go west” is out. Now the way to head is east.

As long as you are willing to see your own sacred cow served up as hamburger there is value in considering the ramifications of dramatically different outcomes.

After the Snow spares the reader of the details of what could otherwise be graphic scenes. There are plenty of bad things which happen, but most of the details are left to the reader’s imagination.

There is some foul language, but only in a couple of incidents, and there it is a matter of a particular character in the novel. On the other hand, the author’s choice of devices for indicating the degree of sophistication of Willo’s vocabulary may be a nuisance to some readers. Willo speaks in the vernacular of today’s youth using such terms as “cos” instead of “because”. I suppose there may be some who appreciate the use of their preferred vocabulary, and I expect them to be under the age of twenty. Such is probably the intended audience, and this book is a reasonable option for provoking them to consider alternative futures.

Letter Re: CCW Permit Holders are The Good Guys

JWR,
One topic that has come up recently is that license holders are more law-abiding than the general population, presumably because they’ve undergone background checks by the state.    The reality is that this has been shown in multiple case reviews.
 
A 2011 study in Texas concluded that CCW/CCL permit holders generally do not use guns to commit crimes and they commit crimes of any nature much less frequently than the general population of Texas.
 
According to an article by the Beaufort Observer concerning the study:
 “The Texas Department of Public Safety published a list of crimes committed in Texas in 2011 by everyone convicted and by those convicted who also held CCL’s. The bottom line: Concealed carry permit holders commit less than 1% of the crimes. If you want to be exact, they committed two tenths of one percent of the crimes in 2011. And not all of those involved firearms or violence.”

“The data show that 63,679 people were convicted of a long list of crimes. Of those 63 thousand, only 120 were CCL holders.”

“Ironically, if you drill down into the data it shows that the most frequently committed crime by CCL holders were domestic violence related crimes.”
 
Likewise, a recent article looking at Kansas CCW permit holders by the Wichita Eagle concluded the same:
“Of the 51,078 permits that have been issued by the state since the law took effect in 2007, 44 permit holders have been charged with a crime while using a firearm through late October, according to records provided by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.    That works out to one charge for every 1,161 permit holders, or 0.09 percent.   The numbers squeeze even tighter when you consider that of the 44 permit holders charged, 17 licenses have been revoked because they were convicted of a crime that disqualifies them from having a permit.
 
Additionally, a 2011 New York Times article derived that among North Carolina permit holders, they were 5.48 times less likely to commit a violent crime.
 
Granted, there is no guarantee that someone with a clean past cannot commit a future crime – we are all born without a criminal conviction.     However, it would seem impossible not to concede that those who legally carry a weapon are the Good Guys.

Thanks again, – Doc C. in Flyover Country

Recipe of the Week:

C. in Florence’s Sandwich Spread Recipes

Cottage Cheese Sandwiches
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
8 slices brown/wheat bread
4 tablespoons margarine
1 egg
2 tablespoons cold water
Covo (cottonseed and peanut oil) or your favorite frying oil

Mix the cheese and nuts together. Spread on 4 slices of bread. Cover with remaining bread. Beat egg and mix with water. Dip sandwiches into egg and water mixture and fry in hot oil until golden brown. Serve with chips.
 
Peanut Honey Sandwiches
6oz. Cream cheese
1/3 cup Honey
12 slices Brown/wheat bread
peanut butter, creamy or chunky
Mix cheese and honey together. Spread six slices of bread with this mixture. Spread remaining six slices of bread with peanut butter. Sandwich bread together and eat!
 
Date and Orange Sandwich
2/3 cup dates
1/4 cup Orange Juice
12 slices of bread
pat of margarine
 
Heat dates and OJ together in a stock pan. Heat until dates are blend with juice. Leave to cool. Spread between buttered slices of bread.
 
(The following is a sandwich that takes a bit of time. in my youth [in Rhodesia] I would have used Dairibord Butter or Stork margarine, Willards salt, Colcom bread, but they are gone and I live in the US, so we do with what we can get.)
 
Rarebit Sandwiches
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 grated/shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mixed (prepared) mustard (I like stone ground/dijon)
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 tomatoes
6 slices (meaty )bacon
6 slices Bread (I like 100% whole wheat)
seasoning

Chef’s Notes:

Toast bread. Cook the bacon crisp and set aside. lay toast on serving plate.  in large bowl beat egg with a whisk. set aside. Thinly slice tomatoes thinly length wise. place two slices of tomato on each bread. In sauce pan melt butter and then add cheese, stir until cheese has melted. Add salt and mustard. stir a second. stir in milk SLOWLY and then pour in mixture on top of beaten egg. stirring continuously. (From heat of sauce the egg will be cooked) sprinkle tomato with salt and pepper. Cover all bread with sauce. top with the bacon and serve while dish is hot.

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Sandwich Spread Recipes

Cold Sandwich Recipes

Rhodesian Recipes

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

Economics and Investing:

Gold Forecast 2013: On the Verge of a New Monetary Order and Gold’s Rise

H.L. sent: Syrians Turn to Backyard Refining as War Reaches Oil

Gold & Silver – War Unofficially Declared on 12 April 2013

Items from The Economatrix:

David Woo Warns Of Major Market Re-alignment

Deflation:  A Three-Act Play

Jim Sinclair:  Swiss Bank Just Refused To Give My Friend His Gold

Physical Gold & Silver Shortages Are Accelerating; Premiums Exploding

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader J.B.G. sent: News from England: Big brother to switch off your fridge: Power giants to make millions – but you must pay for ‘sinister’ technology

   o o o

I can remember back in April of 1980 I was quite concerned that Zimbabwe (the former Rhodesia) had been taken over by Comrade Robert Mugabe, a quintessential African Dictator. Sadly, the passing of 33 years has not seen freedom and justice prevail in Zimbabwe, nor here in these United States. Yes, all these years later, Mugabe is still in power, and we now have our own would-be African Dictator, with a similar ideology. To clarify: I am outspokenly anti-racist. But please just dispassionately look at the similar collectivist roots and the totalitarian goals of Robert Mugabe, Jacob Zuma, François Bozizé (the recently-deposed dictator of the Central African Republic,) Omar al-Bashir and many others. Compare their ambitions with those of Barack Obama. There are some frightening similarities.

   o o o

I see that Camping Survival now has full size O.D. nylon sandbags starting at 44 cents each and priced as low as 32 cents each, if purchased in large quantity.

   o o o

I heard that our friend Enola Gay is selling her Naturally Cozy home business. That is a great opportunity for someone who is handy with a sewing machine. As I see it, the advantages of this business are: Non-controversial merchandise, lightweight and compact products–hence they can be mailed inexpensively, and plenty of repeat customers.

Notes from JWR:

April 28th is the birthday of Aimo Johannes Lahti. (Born in 1896.) This clever Finn designed (or co-designed) an amazing array of weapons including the L-35 Lahti pistol, the Suomi M-31 submachinegun, the Lahti-Saloranta M/26 LMG, the famous Lahti L-39 20mm anti-tank rifle, and even the 20 ItK 40 (a 20 mm dual anti-aircraft cannon.)

—

Today we present another entry for Round 46 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300 and 10 TAPCO polymer magazines (5 AR and 5 AK) courtesy of Armageddon Armory, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

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

Round 46 ends on May 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.

God Invented Prepping, by M.B.F.

Consider the evidence:   

Preppers throughout the world sense a coming, apocalyptic event.  If you are a prepper, God’s warnings, in part, are already clearly formed in your heart:  “A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself [knows how to escape calamities]:  but the simple pass on, and are punished”–Proverbs 22:3.  [Words in brackets mine]  In the book of Hebrews, we read of perhaps the most famous prepper of all time:  “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith,” (Hebrews 11:7).  Notice, Noah was prepared because he feared [heeded] the Lord’s warnings:  the fact that we believe the scriptures is made evident in that they change the way we live our daily lives.  God warns that a time of trouble worse than anything ever before witnessed in human history will occur at the end of the age:  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be (Matthew 24:21).

Preppers believe in storing food and ensuring access to clean water.  God advises us that the ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer (Proverbs 30:25). Like the ants, we must lay up a storehouse of food.  This is God’s way of preparing His people for difficult times.  [Notice, the political leaders of many nations lack the godly wisdom to prepare in this way; in fact, just the opposite is occurring (running up high debts and living on short-term inventories).].  In the Old Testament, God warns Joseph in a dream of a coming drought of seven years duration, counseling him to use the seven years of abundance that will precede the drought to store up food for the time of adversity.  Because Joseph follows God’s counsel, the people of Egypt are spared:  and the dearth was in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread (Genesis 41:54).

Preppers believe that large cities are potential death traps.  God teaches us that the conies [field mice] are but a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks (Proverbs 30:26).  Like the mice, we must use every natural advantage at our disposal to secure our homes and protect our families.  Field mice are weak and timid; yet, they are safe in the rocks because they seek the protection that nature affords them.  In order to safeguard our families, we must develop a working knowledge of basic security practices, products, and systems.  If possible, we must seek the protection that nature affords for remoteness.  Obviously, in the event of any major catastrophe or societal breakdown, major cities will become harsh, unforgiving, merciless environments.    

Preppers believe that people are the greatest force multiplier.  God’s counsels that the locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands (Proverbs 30:27).  Like the locusts, we must form small groups of networked communities for mutual assistance, so as to magnify our strength.  Notice, the locusts all move in concert, yet they have no identified leader among them.  Christians are all under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, having the scriptures to guide them.  No one man rules over them:  rather, those mature men among them who have demonstrated wisdom and right conduct over time are to work together to care for and provide guidance to their local assemblies and communities.  We must move away from a culture of isolation (which is a perversion of the Lord’s congregation) and develop a corporate lifestyle and perspective.

Preppers believe in self-sufficiency.  God reminds us that the spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces (Proverbs 30:28).  Like the spider, we must be industrious.  Notice, the servants of influential men do not think spiders are fit to be found in palaces.  Yet, no matter how hard they work to kill them, they cannot get rid of them all—for the spider takes hold with its hands—working hard to prepare a place for itself.  If we are industrious to do all that God has commanded us to do to prepare [as simple acts of faith], He will sustain and comfort us in the day of adversity, preparing a table before us in the midst of our enemies when the time of trouble arises (Psalms 23:5).  

Unforeseen circumstances and difficulties are a given.  [It’s what you don’t see coming or anticipate that usually kills you.]  Without God’s divine intervention to make provision for and guide His people, we will not survive the time of trouble.  Proverbs 24:10 reads, If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.  While God counsels us to make natural preparations, it is only those who have been spiritually prepared before hand by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit who will survive the day of battle.  Scripture is clear that securing God’s blessing during times of trouble will be dependent upon sound spiritual training and moral development:  we must both know and follow God’s counsel to receive His reward.  Here is an example of the practical instruction contained in the Bible:  

“If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?” (Proverbs 24:11-12).

It is the nature and character of God to seek after justice (Isaiah 58:6).  If we are able to aid those in mortal peril from unjust persecutions, we are to do so, especially if they are of the household of faith [Christians]:  for we cannot feign ignorance about their suffering and expect God to deliver us from our own afflictions (Galatians 6:10).  Rather, we are commanded to help:  in fact, our expectation for our own survival is dependent upon understanding this truth.  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7).     

The Bible contains the words of life and death, and it is only by studying its counsel that we can learn how to be guided moment-to-moment by the Spirit’s leading:  

“See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it,” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16).  

Of course, the greatest danger of the age is not simply death, but deception.  Before the Lord returns, there will be a great falling away from true faith in Christ [which we see even now in much of the traditional, American church system]:  for many churches are filled with false teachings, and their members lack godly fear [a respect for God and His wisdom].  Instead of warning the people, these churches preach the very message of peace and safety that Christ warned we would hear:  

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief,” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4).  

It is the wisdom of God to prepare–and the best means of doing this is as a fully functioning, spiritually healthy fellowship of like-minded believers–for the local assembly is how the Lord encourages us in both peaceful and difficult times:
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:  not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting [encouraging] one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day [of our Lord’s return] approaching,” (Hebrews 10:24-25).  [Bracketed words mine]

Notice, we were not created for isolated independence, but rather, a Spirit-led interdependence in which each member of an assembly plays a specified, pivotal role, according to their divine calling and function.  This cannot happen when we do not share our daily lives with one another, according to the apostolic pattern.  In the book of Acts (2:42-48), we read that believers in the early church continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, meeting both publicly and breaking bread from house to house.  

Simply, Christ’s doctrine is made known, not only by our teachings, but also our manner of living.  This is why Paul states [when writing to Timothy, his son in the faith]:  “Thou hast fully known my doctrine and manner of life …” (2 Timothy 3:10).  When we depart from the apostolic pattern [which is for like-minded believers to develop close, spiritual friendships in their daily tasks and lives], we misrepresent what Christ died to achieve and raise up a false image of God in the earth.  Pointedly, church is not a holy place, but a holy people–and a means of relating to one another according to the commandments of God.  

This is why, while preparing for the rigors of the cross in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ prayed for His present and future disciples with these words:  “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me,” (John 17:20-21).    
It is in our unity and love for one another that the greatest testimony of our faith is made known.  Cooperating to achieve practical goals requires a humility beyond that which is typically associated with the traditional church experience–for it is not always easy to keep collective commitments–or to share communal responsibilities.   

In the days ahead, our need to function as an extended family will only grow.  Just as the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through sufferings, so also will the church [the bride of Christ] be made without spot or blemish by her many persecutions (Ephesians 5:27; Hebrews 2:10).  The entire New Testament is written as a warning for us to prepare for the testing that will come at the end of the age.  Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended [against God].  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever skillet you will think that he doeth God service,” (John 16:2; Ephesians 5:25-27; Hebrews 2:10). [Words in brackets mine]

We are forewarned because we are not to live in fear, worrying about [real or imagined] evil things:    

“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.

–Isaiah 8:12-13 [NKJV]

We are to fear God, not man.  

Consider Paul’s words to those in the church at Thessalonians:    

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

–2 Thessalonians 2:1-2                

The believers in this locality were wholly distracted, their minds shaken and hearts continually troubled by deceitful men claiming apostolic revelation [“nor by letter as from us”] in order to build personal acclaim.  Overcome by lies, the people were now in bondage [to fear]–believing that the time of great tribulation was upon them–and that they had missed the catching away [rapture] (2 Peter 2:19).  

Any distraction from our godly responsibilities is a dangerous thing:  and in the latter days, these deceptions will increase by a multitude and variety of means:    

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [of our Lord’s return] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who oppose and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God,” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). [words in brackets mine]

Notice, the apostle warns that men will try to deceive believers into thinking that they can avoid the prophesied time of great trouble [for which cause, they will not be prepared].  In an age of apostasy, there are many deceptions to distract believers from focusing upon essential things.  

Paul specifies two conditions that must be satisfied before Christ returns and the time of great trouble ends:

  • A Falling Away:  the rise of the false bride of Christ, the apostate church, full of corruptions and every evil work.  As John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of the Lord, so too will this growing deception and false form of Christianity groom people to believe the anti-christ’s lies and manipulations (Revelation 17:3-6; 18).
  • The Rise of the Man of Sin [anti-christ]:  when Jerusalem is surrounded by foreign invaders and the anti-christ stands in the holy place, pronouncing himself as god.  Notice, Matthew and Luke’s words:  “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh (Luke 21:20); when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place …” (Matthew 24:15).  If death has not taken us, we will physically see the revealing of the man of sin.   

                      
Once we have accepted the fact that we have a pressing need to prepare, the enormity of the challenges facing us can sometimes lead to feeling overwhelmed, especially for those just entering the prepping lifestyle.  Through much prayer, God has given me 3 extraordinarily simple rules to follow that bring order to my efforts and peace to my mind:

  • Doing something is better than doing nothing
  • Simple beats complex [do what works for you]
  • Do first things first [what the Spirit first reveals]; and the rest of preparations will fall into place

Throughout the book of Isaiah, we find the same pattern:  entire chapters detailing the tremendous calamity and wide-spread ruin that will come upon those who have turned from the true worship of God:  and interspersed throughout, here and there, God’s repeated promise to deliver the faithful.

If you are not appointed to martyrdom (Revelation 6:9-11), and have been prepared before hand by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will prevail:  for “a prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished,” (Proverbs 22:3).  It is deception to lose our focus upon Christ and His warnings, wasting our time on non-essential things:  Jesus Christ is the true Ark–He alone has the power to grant men eternal life–and prepare them for the day of battle.   

As the following parable attests, all of our preparations [stored riches] will count as nothing if our faith and dependence is not foremost in and upon God: 

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. – Luke 12:16-21