2024 Political Shockwaves: Election Year Turmoil

With each successive election cycle in the 21st Century, Americans seem to be growing more divided and more strident. This political divisiveness has spilled over into popular culture, movies, and even rifts in some religious denominations. College and university campuses have become flashpoints for large protests. Policing and prosecutions at the federal level – and in some coastal states – have become overtly politicized and weaponized.  Each passing year, there is less and less “common ground.”  People seem to have been grouped into diametrically opposed camps. And, as I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, a geographic self-sorting is also underway, and accelerating.

In the 2020s, we have witnessed enormous government overreaction to a pandemic, with overreaching draconian measures enacted. These included masking mandates, enforced isolation for extended periods, the destruction of hundreds of thousands of small businesses, forced vaccinations of military servicemembers and heathcare workers, and coerced vaccinations in the public sector. Meanwhile, there were huge riots that burned many businesses to the ground and inflicted countless millions of dollars of damage to public and private infrastructure. And since then, we have seen “woke” politics and transgenderism run amok. Simultaneously, our southern border was intentionally flung open by the Bidenistas, triggering the largest rush of illegal immigration in the nation’s history. All of these had political gains in mind, or at least political implications. I suspect that all of these were seen by The Powers That Be as tests of the citizenry to gauge the limits of our tolerance and our submissiveness. Sadly, as a nation, we failed those tests. The majority of the citizenry was cajoled into taking a not fully tested genocidal “vaccine” that was actually a genetic programming tool that is even today incrementally destroying the immune systems of those who took “the jab.”Continue reading“2024 Political Shockwaves: Election Year Turmoil”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Getting Just a Graze Was a Miracle

He Must Have Invested in Miracle Ear Stock

News Link:

Trump adviser: It’s ‘miraculous’ former president turned his head ‘at the right moment to avoid the bullet’


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

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

 

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” – John 1:25-37 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 20, 2024

On July 20th, 1969, At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, spoke these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.

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Today is the birthday of novelist Cormac McCarthy (born, 1933.) He is the author of the survivalist novel The Road, which later became a popular movie with the same title.

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On July 20, 1793, Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie completed the first European east-to-west crossing of America north of Mexico.

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July 20, 1868: The first use of tax stamps on cigarettes.

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Today’s feature article was written by  SurvivalBlog staffer Tom Christainason.

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We are in great need of articles for the last two weeks of Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 113 ends on July 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.

Rossi Survival Rifle in .45 Colt/.410 Gauge, by Thomas Christianson

Packing considerably more punch than the typical .22LR survival rifle, the Rossi Survival Rifle in .45 Colt/.410 Gauge is light, compact, rugged, and easy to use. It would be an excellent tool for taking medium-sized game out to about 75 yards or so. Beyond that range, the trajectory of the bullet from a .45 Colt cartridge begins to exhibit its bow-shaped arc, making accurate shooting more difficult.

With a manufacturer-suggested retail price of $356.99 at the time of this writing at www.rossiusa.com, the rifle would make an excellent addition to the survival kit of a plane, boat, truck or other vehicle that spends a lot of time in the backcountry.Continue reading“Rossi Survival Rifle in .45 Colt/.410 Gauge, by Thomas Christianson”

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:

I got all of this year’s wood cut and hauled it to the vicinity of our woodshed’s “dance floor”. Most of it was Red Fir and Western Larch (a.k.a. locally as “tamarack”) in 5-foot lengths. All that I need to do now is some crosscutting to stove-length, and some splitting. Because I mainly cut discarded tree tops from a recent  USFS timber sale, only about 20% of the rounds will need to be split.

I added several antique guns to the Elk Creek Company online store. One of them is a quite nice and very scarce Charles Playfair & Company (of Aberdeen, Scotland) 12 Gauge Ejector Shotgun made in 1896. It went back to the factory in 1970 for a new set of nitro-proofed fluid steel barrels with 2-3/4″ chambers. So now it is the best of both worlds: A federally-exempt antique gun, but safe to shoot modern 2-3/4″ shotgun shells.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!

And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?

Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?

As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:

And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.

And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.” – Isaiah 10:1-21 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 19, 2024

On July 19, 1843, the steamship SS Great Britain was launched, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was the first ocean-going craft to feature an iron hull and a screw propeller. At the time, it was the largest vessel afloat in the world.

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July 19th is coincidentally the birthday of handgun designers Samuel Colt (born 1814) and Gaston Glock. (Glock was born in 1929 and passed away in December, 2023.)

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I just got some sad news: Lou Dobbs has passed away. My condolences to his family.

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We are in need of entries to round out Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 113 ends on July 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.

A Pre-1899 Gun Investing Rationale

Introductory Note: I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that I have a considerable bias on this topic.  I own and operate Elk Creek Company — a side business selling pre-1899 guns and percussion black powder replicas. I’ve been dabbling in antique guns for more than 35 years. (Back in the 1990s, I operated Clearwater Trading Company, from my home near Orofino, Idaho.)  Despite my bias, I believe that what I’m recommending in this essay represents some ground truth. – JWR

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Mark Twain was famous for once writing: “Buy land. Because they aren’t making it any more of it.”  This saying was later re-phrased quite similarly and popularized by the witty social commentator Will Rogers.

I’m writing today to encourage an analogous investment:  Antique guns.  Because the December 31, 1898 “antique” threshold was arbitrarily established by the U.S. Congress in 1968, they created not just a fixed commodity, but what in actuality is a dwindling commodity.  Eventually, guns wear out from shooting, or gradually succumb to the rusting ravages of dampness, if they are not properly stored. Meanwhile, modern guns continue to be produced in large numbers. This factor alone greatly increases the relative scarcity of Pre-1899 antiques, with each passing year.

Consider this:  In late 1968, a legally “antique” gun was at least 70 years old, and these represented perhaps 5% of the guns in private collections.  But today, a legally “antique” gun is at least 126 years old, and they represent less than 1% of the guns in private collections. So they are a dwindling commodity, indeed!Continue reading“A Pre-1899 Gun Investing Rationale”

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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, more coverage of the bullish prices for precious metals.

Precious Metals:

Gold Soars To Record High As Stocks Do Something Not Seen Since Oct 1987.

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The wild ride in precious metals prices continued this past week. Gold touched $2,488.10 on Wednesday morning. (July 17, 2024.) Prices were then slammed back down by the COMEX Shorts, on Thursday, pushing spot silver back below $30 per ounce. JWR’s Comments: We can expect more market turmoil today, and this coming Monday. Traditionally, summers have been a season of weak precious metals prices — the so-called “summer doldrums”.  But not this year! The silver and gold bull is picking up speed.  We can safely expect this to continue, at least until November 2024.

Economy & Finance:

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Traders pivot back to multiple rate-cut view, reviving one of 2024’s biggest trading themes.

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Larry Fink says America’s $35 trillion national debt will be a ‘big burden on the backs of our children’ unless the private sector is given room to grow.

JWR’s Comments: The inexorable growth of the national debt has become the great unspeakable truth. This is a l’empereur sans-cullotes situation. It took 200 years for the U.S. government to accumulate a one trillion dollar national debt. But now we have a $34.9 trillion debt and are adding another $1 trillion in new debt every 100 days.  Repaying that debt is nearly impossible without the destruction of the Dollar as a currency unit. To say that our legislators are spending like drunken sailors is an insult to drunken sailors.  At least those sailors spend money that they’ve actually earned. The congresscritters are spending money that doesn’t even exist.

o  o  o

Reported on Wednesday: Nasdaq posts worst day since 2022, Dow gains 200 points as investors rotate out of tech.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 18, 2024

On July 18, 1572, the Provincial States of Holland recognized William I of Orange as Stadtholder of Holland, Friesland, and Utrecht at a gathering in Dordrecht

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July 18th, 1954 was the birthdate of Ricky Skaggs, an American country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, mandocaster, and banjo.

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Toiday’s feature article is a guest post by Hubert Moolman, selected by JWR.  It is reposted with permission.

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We are in need of entries for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 113 ends on July 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.

Silver is Very Close to a Sustained Multi-Year Rally, by Hubert Moolman

Gold is one of the most reliable and accurate financial measures one can use. Historically, the Dow/gold ratio has provided a very good signal for silver bear and bull market cycles.

Here is a long-term silver chart compared to a long-term Dow/gold ratio chart:

 

 

 

On the silver chart (the top trace in the chart), I’ve highlighted the significant Dow/gold ratio peaks with a blue line. In every case, silver made a significant bottom some years after the Dow/gold ratio peak. These were signals for the (then-coming) silver bull market.Continue reading“Silver is Very Close to a Sustained Multi-Year Rally, by Hubert Moolman”

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, we look at Canada’s restrictive new gun laws.

11 Places That Will Pay You To Move There

SurvivalBlog reader D.S.V. mentioned this article at  Clark.com: 11 Places That Will Pay You To Move There in 2024.

New Canadian Firearms Laws

Blog reader L. in Nova Scotia, sent the link to this update at the RCMP website: Requirements for individuals and businesses to transfer a firearm barrel or handgun slide, and for individuals to import these parts, ammunition and cartridge magazines.

Here is a quote from a recent RCMP nationwide letter:

“Other measures that are already in effect include:

    • businesses and individuals may only transfer cartridge magazines to an individual that holds a valid PAL;
    • a national “freeze” on handguns;
    • changes to the definition of a “prohibited firearm”;
    • “red flag” laws (emergency weapons prohibition order); and
    • new Criminal Code offences.

Additional measures will take effect at a later date.”

JWR’s Comment: They keep gradually adding their Liliputian lines of tyranny…

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The Promised Land was a tangible representation of God’s ultimate desire for His people, but they failed to comprehend His gift for at least three reasons: It was unconditionally promised, it was outrageously generous, and it was absolutely free. None of those make sense in the world as we know it.” – Charles Rozell “Chuck” Swindoll