Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This week I had to make a trip down to Sandpoint, to run some errands, including buying some grain for our chicken feed mix.  I’ve made some progress on the workshop partitioning. But I had to put that on hold for a couple of days to assist our #2 Son in running some new Cat-6 Ethernet cables under the house.

Next week I have a repair scheduled for our aging pickup truck. That trip will essentially consume an entire day.  And I also need to swap out the studded winter tires for summer tires, on both of our rigs.  These chores always take a lot of time.  But hey… “What’s time to a hog?”

Now, Lily’s report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.” – Ecclesiastes 5:1-14 (KJV)

The “American Redoubt”, the Dream of a Conservative Fortress, by Adrien Jaulmes

Editor’s Introductory Note: The following is a translation of a March 24, 2023 article in France’s oldest newspaper, Le Figaro. One of the newspaper’s American staffers interviewed me by telephone, in February, during his fact-finding tour of the region.

Here is a link to that original piece, in French: Aux États-Unis, la «Redoute américaine», un rêve de forteresse conservatrice. (In the United States, the “American Redoubt”, a dream of a conservative fortress.) Most of the article was “réservé aux abonné”  — reserved for subscribers.The Le Figaro reporter, Adrien Jaulmes, kindly sent me the English version of the article. The reporter included this note in his e-mail to me:

“The trip was extraordinary. (Of course it involved quite a lot of driving; we Europeans are always baffled by the size of your country). Northern Idaho was probably the most stunning, such a beautiful place, but Eastern Oregon was also quite interesting. Therein, I understood better what you were saying about the importance of water, and also about how deep is the geographical difference between east and west of the Cascades.”

Most American mainstream media journalists are prone to write anti-conservative hatchet pieces. But this article was quite straightforward and unbiased. – JWR

The English version of the Le Figaro article follows:

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Northern Idaho and several northwestern states have become the destination of a political in-migration movement in recent years. Blending survivalism, Christianity and conservatism, the mountain stronghold of the American Redoubt has gained momentum since the Covid pandemic.

Jim Rawles keeps the location of his ranch a secret. Somewhere in northern Idaho, the writer and former U.S. officer has built a retreat where he and his family are preparing for what he calls “the end of the world as we know it.” “I moved to the area in 1991 from California, where I had previously lived,” he says by phone. There were simply too many people and government power had become too intrusive.”

Three decades later, Rawles has made a name for himself. Now a best-selling author of political-fiction novels and a disaster survival guide, he named the imaginary country that encompasses the mountainous areas of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, plus parts of Oregon and Washington, “American Redoubt,” a term for a military fortification. Sparsely populated, far from the coast and major cities, but fertile and with many lakes and rivers, this part of the continent is, according to Rawles, the best refuge in case of disaster, natural or social. “I coined the term around 2011,” he says, recommending in a manifesto to move to the region. It’s not a political movement, more of a philosophy. It’s not a secession either: rather, we advocate partition.”

Inserted like a wedge between Montana and Washington state, bordering the Canadian province of British Columbia, northern Idaho is a region of lakes and mountains, valleys and forests covered during the winter with deep snow. The area is full of French names, Coeur d’Alene, Lake Pend Oreille, given by the Coureurs des bois and trappers from Canada. Towns are scarce, usually small communities isolated in the snow where the gas station also serves as a grocery and hardware store. Most people live in isolated farms with painted barns.
Continue reading“The “American Redoubt”, the Dream of a Conservative Fortress, by Adrien Jaulmes”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look chronic inflation in the Euro Zone. (See the Inflation section.)

Precious Metals:

The charts prove it: The precious metals are looking quite bullish. Since November of 2022, spot gold has risen from around $1,650 per Troy ounce to more than $1,975 per Troy ounce. The gains in just the last few weeks have been impressive, especially for silver. As of March 28th, silver was up 3.52% for the week.

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At Kitco.com: Still surfing the silver wave.

Economy & Finance:

First Citizens Buys Failed Lender Silicon Valley Bank.  JWR’s Comment: Don’t miss reading the details of the write-offs in this sweetheart deal. (Billions of your tax dollars at work!)

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Regulators Blame Friday’s Deutsche Bank Crash On Single CDS Trade.

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Over at Zero Hedge: Relief Rallies & Remembering Bear Stearns.

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Clint Siegner: Americans Fleeced Again in Another Round of Bank Bailouts.

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Newsweek: Deutsche Bank Collapse Risk Grows As Experts Wait for Next ‘Domino to Fall’

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FDIC transcript: Remarks by Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg on Recent Bank Failures and the Federal Regulatory Response before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, United States Senate.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 30, 2023

On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and District of Columbia police officer Thomas K. Delahanty. Agent McCarthy took a bullet protecting Reagan. McCarthy was not wearing a bulletproof vest. He later became Chief of Police in Orland Park, Illinois.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the another entry for Round 105 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. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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 firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 105 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 3, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

Resources and Recommendations

Sorry, I don’t have a free full curriculum link for you. All new homeschooling parents look for it and I was no exception. Now, with a few years under my belt, I am suspicious of things claiming to be a complete curriculum let alone a free one. Every teacher supplements the curriculum and it’s a surprisingly fine line between supplementing and building.

Your job is to keep your child challenged and working at their best. Too rigid a curriculum, or sticking too rigidly to one, will hamstring your child. Look for understanding and mastery and then stretch to the next goal. You are guiding growth and you need to be flexible to keep your child growing as they should. To that end I will give you is a selection of resources, that is, places for you to find tools. I’ll also recommend some specific tools I’ve found.

I encourage you to experiment with a wide range of things as a part of your homeschooling practice. Your child should be brilliant in the basics but also exposed to a wide variety of activities. Your children will need physical activity, they will need recess (my state specifically states how many hours of recess can be included as instruction hours) and they will each need to create. Music, art, and shop class should be included. Everything that you think your child needs to be competent at, you get to teach or find someone to teach.

Finally, make sure to take these recommendations, and all recommendations, with a grain of salt. Follow Bruce Lee’s wisdom: “Retain what is useful” as you delve into homeschooling advice. Some things work for some families and not others. Some things work for some kids and not others, even in the same family. It’s your job to find what works for your family and your kid in order to get where you all need to be.Continue reading“Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 3, by N.C.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, more about License Plate Surveillance.

License Plate Surveillance, Courtesy of Your HOA

SurvivalBlog’s Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: License Plate Surveillance, Courtesy of Your Homeowners Association.

America in 2023: Confusion and Pessimism

From left-wing The Hill: The state of America in 2023: confusion and pessimism.

Nearly Half of Louisiana Residents May Be ‘Survivalists’

Are you ready for a disaster? Nearly half of Louisiana residents may be ‘survivalists’.
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 29, 2023

Today would have been the 104th birthday of William “Bill” Summers Anderson. He passed away on June 29, 2021, at age 102.

The following is from his biography at the Infogalactic wiki:

“He was born March 29, 1919, in Hankow, China. On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong was also attacked by the Japanese. As a member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC), Anderson fought the Japanese but after 17 days of heavy fighting, Hong Kong surrendered.

On Christmas Day 1941, exactly four years after he had escaped from the Japanese in China, he became a Prisoner of War (POW) and lost his second home. For the first two years, he was in a prison camp in Hong Kong before being moved to Nagoya, Japan as part of a group of 400, to work in a railway locomotive factory. Here the work was very hard; inmates worked 13 days out of 14 and were beaten on occasion. Towards the end of 1944, Japan was being bombed regularly. In May 1945, a large air raid over Nagoya knocked out the factory and the POWs were sent across the country to Toyama on the west coast to work at a branch of the locomotive factory. Toyama was almost totally destroyed in a fire bomb raid on August 1, 1945, after which the POWs were confined to barracks until the Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945.

He was evacuated from Japan to the Philippines and as a British citizen, sent to England after two weeks of recovery in Canada. After the war, he became chairman of NCR Corporation.”

In 1983, just before he retired, Anderson was reportedly America’s highest-paid business executive with a compensation of $13,299.000.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 105 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. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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 firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 105 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1.)

Three principles for educating your child

Educating your children is going to take a lot of investment. In beginning stages the things you need are free or cheap but you will need to invest a lot of time. As the student gets older the materials will cost more but each student will be capable of more independent work. Regardless of where they are on that journey some principles will always be guiding you as you parent and teach. I’ll suggest 3: Homeschooling is a way of life. Follow and grow interest. Be brilliant in the basics.

Homeschooling is a way of life to prepare them for life

My wife took note of the three educational placemats on the table and jokingly told me that my homeschooler was showing. Then our kindergartner dropped a geographic fact into our dinner conversation that she had picked up from that placemat. Does that mean dinner and lunch count as instruction? Of course not, but she learned something outside of school hours because her environment as a whole is educational.

Homeschoolers sometimes take the practice of making things educational too far and suck the fun out of…well anything…but it’s because learning is never far away for homeschoolers. As with many things our old friend Aristotle has the right of it: too much or too little of a virtue is a vice. Sometimes though (this is still Aristotle) one vice is worse than another. His example uses Courage as the virtue, too little is cowardice and too much is foolhardiness. Of those vices cowardice is worse and so we err on the side of too much courage. For homeschooling, the error of too little education is worse than too much education and so the wise course is adding just a bit more education than you think is ideal.

While you’re adding in that education consider this quote:
“Children want to be treated like they’re slightly more intelligent than they are” ~ Eoin Colfer.

I would add “knowledgeable” but otherwise I don’t think the quote can be improved. Teach more than they need right now. Teach a little bit more than you think they can understand. Then come back and end with what they need. What you’re actually doing is throwing out pegs that they will hang things on later. You’re showing them where they will be going. You’re growing a desire to finish filling in the blanks later. You’re showing your confidence that they can reach that far.

That’s why I say it’s a lifestyle. You’ll be looking to build on their knowledge, to expand it, and you will find teachable moments everywhere. When you’re reading to your pre-schooler you’ll sound out a phonetic word, not because you expect them to start sounding out everything, but because it implants that concept. In a healthy homeschool, learning and discussing learning is the normal state of affairs. Don’t take it to the point where they hate playing games because you lecture about strictly dominated strategies in game theory but do take it to the point where they start to see the amazing network of connections all about them.Continue reading“Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 2, by N.C.”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This 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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Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson suggested this interesting article: How I Persuade Free-Roaming Ducks to Lay Eggs For Me.

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Video of congressional testimony by a Special Forces veteran on the aftermath of Biden’s shameful handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal: Retired Lt. Col.’s Remarks Receive Thunderous Applause From House Foreign Affairs Committee.

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I recently purchased a couple of flexible antennas for our UV-5R multiband handi-talkies. These antennas are American-made by a small company in Virginia, called Tactenna. They seem to be quite sturdy.  My initial tests showed that they work quite well on GMRS frequencies. The quickest and easiest way to order them seems to be via Tactenna’s eBay store.

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France On The Brink Of Revolution? JWR’s Comment:  Vive La Résistance!

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GOP Compromise Unintentionally Creates Universal Firearm Background Checks.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 28, 2023

On this day in 845, a 5,000-man strong fleet of Danish Vikings invaded Frankish lands. They only retreated after besieging Paris and securing a ransom from the Frankish King Charles the Bald. This was part of a series of devastating raids begun by the Vikings in the 790s.

The Vikings were led by a man named “Reginherus” or Ragnar, sometimes linked to the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok. The Vikings easily overcame defenses set in place by Charlemagne and are known to have attacked the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés just outside the city. Although struck by an outbreak of plague, the Vikings overcame this to return home with their ransom of 7,000 French livres of gold and silver.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 105 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. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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 firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 105 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.