SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on some upcoming conservative legislation at the Idaho capitol.

Idaho

There was some good news included in a strongly-worded e-newsletter from Scott McIntosh of The Idaho Statesman newspaper. It was entitled:  The Idaho Way: Idaho Republican legislators reveal early agenda of fear and loathing. It included this tally:

“So far, Idaho Republican legislators have introduced bills that would:

  • prevent the city of Boise from sponsoring the Boise Pride Festival
  • criminally punish someone filing a false claim of child abuse
  • prohibit the state from requiring contractors to provide restroom facilities accommodations for transgender residents
  • tell cities which laws to prioritize for enforcement
  • expand stand-your-ground laws, making it easier to kill someone in your house
  • make sure parents know they don’t have to get their kids immunized to go to daycare
  • prevent so-called “sanctuary cities”
  • prohibit colleges and university officials from banning guns on campuses
  • ban state health officials from recommending the COVID-19 vaccine or taking other public health safety measures.”

McIntosh is a hardcore Democrat, so all of the preceding list of Republican legislative goals probably horrified him, but most of them made me quite cheery. Take this as a word of warning, for your future reference, if you ever see anything under his byline: Scott McIntosh, the Opinion Editor of The Idaho Statesman is a very liberal and very anti-gun transplant from New York. He attended Syracuse University. His newsletter is titled “The Idaho Way”, but more accurately, it should be called “The New York Liberal Way.”

o  o  o

A Modern Homesteading Conference will be held June 30th-July1st, 2023 in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. Among others, Joel and Daniel Salatin will be guest speakers!

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Reader C.B. mentioned this, over at Fox News: Idaho governor wins lawsuit against illegal encampment outside Capitol: ‘We are not Portland’.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“…it is manifest, in the spirit of our history, in our annals, and by the general voice of the fathers of the  republic, that, in a very great degree, to the Pulpit, the Puritan Pulpit, we owe the moral force which won our independence.” – John Wingate Thornton, The Pulpit of the American Revolution.

Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 30, 2023

Retired actor Eugene “Gene” Allen Hackman was born January 30, 1930. He retired from acting, because of stress issues.

January 30th is also the birthday of historian Barbara Tuchman (born 1912, died February 6, 1989). She wrote some very engaging history books.

And January 30th, 1925 was the birthday of Douglas Engelbart, who invented the computer mouse.

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Sales of the latest edition of the SurvivalBlog Archive waterproof USB stick have been more rapid than anticipated.  I now expect them to sell out within 10 days. If you want any, then order them soon! We might not manufacture a second batch, this year.

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Today’s feature article is a review written by staff Field Gear Editor Thomas Christianson.

Pietta M1858 .44 Remington Replica, by Thomas Christianson

Last summer, I tested a Pietta Blackpowder M1858 .44 Remington replica that I acquired from the Elk Creek Company. It was fun to shoot, interesting from a historical perspective, and is not classed as a “firearm” under Federal law. If there were a long-term technological setback, it would be easier to manufacture ammo for this replica than it would be for my more modern firearms.

Although shooting cap and ball revolvers is fun, loading them is a somewhat time-consuming process. It is easy to understand why most people select cartridge handguns over cap and ball revolvers if they have the choice.

The Backstory

I decided to dip my toe into the waters of black powder firearms because I had some purchase credits with Elk Creek Company. (I had been awarded those purchase credits as writing contest prizes, back before I came on board as a SurvivalBlog staff writer.)

I was inspired by SurvivalBlog contributor “M.B.”, who wrote an excellent four-part series entitled “Black Powder for Self-Reliance” back in October of 2019. (See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.)

Just three days after I placed my order, the revolver arrived via Priority Mail. The revolver could be shipped directly to me via USPS because according to Federal law, much like a pre-1899 gun, a cap and ball revolver is not a “firearm”. Instead, it is classified as an “antique” and hence it is outside of Federal jurisdiction.  Note that a few states have restrictions on antique guns, so check before mail-ordering one.Continue reading“Pietta M1858 .44 Remington Replica, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week: Non-GMO Biscuit Mix

The following recipe comes to us from SurvivalBlog reader SaraSue.  It is for a homemade non-GMO biscuit mix powder. It is intended to replace commercially-made mixes such as Bisquick, that could include some genetically modified organism (GMO) grain. SaraSue notes:

“If you read the packaging on a box of Bisquick, it will state that there are genetically modified ingredients in it. I purchase non-GMO ingredients from Azure Standard.”

Yields: About 25 cups

Ingredients
  • One 5-pound bag of non-GMO all-purpose flour. (19 to 20 cups)3¾ cups buttermilk powder⅔ cup baking powder½ cup cane sugar (or organic sugar — this is optional, but adds a nice flavor)

    2 tablespoons kosher salt

    3 teaspoons baking soda

Powder Mixing Directions

In a very large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Biscuit Baking Directions

This recipe makes a dozen biscuits:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 425 F.
  2. Pour 3 cups of biscuit mix into a large mixing bowl
  3. 3/4 cup cold butter (cut into the mix). This can be canned butter.
  4. 10T cold water (Note: Add 1T at a time, as the quantity can vary due to your climate)
  5. Mix, knead, and cut biscuit rounds. Or just do “drop biscuits”, which eliminates the kneading and cutting.  You just drop large spoonfuls of the dough on a baking sheet.
  6. Bake at 425 F for about 10-to-15 minutes, depending upon the size of biscuit rounds/dollops and the regulation of your oven.
STORAGE

A sturdy sealed plastic container of this dry mix will keep in a dry, cool cupboard for up to six months. Or you can freeze the mix for longer storage life.

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

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 at copper supply and prices. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

John Rubino: Gold Or Silver?

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Arkadiusz Sieroń, at Gold-Eagle.com: The Fed’s Crossroads – Hawkish or Dovish? JWR’s Comments:  My appraisal is that the Fed will be pressured by the U.S. Treasury to relent on raising interest rates, most likely  before May. The higher rates are making the annual interest portion of the Federal budget quite painful.  In 2022, the government was spending $4 billion per day, just on interest payments, and of course, that figure will be much higher, in 2023. Bottom line:  It won’t be hawkish. It won’t be dovish. They are going to chicken out!  A chicken is a sort of oversized dove.  Regardless of a Federal Reserve rate pivot, we can expect to see higher silver and gold prices, in 2023.

Economy & Finance:

WND: Biden admin announces 15-year green economics plan.

o  o  o

Reader H.L. sent us this: Households earning $100,000 or more are cutting spending more aggressively. What’s going on?

o  o  o

Rate Cuts And QT?

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Billionaires in blue states face coordinated wealth-tax bills.

o  o  o

Number of U.S. restaurants per capita at 25-year low.

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At Zero Hedge: Beige Book Finds “Little Growth” Ahead”, Increasing Difficulty For Retailers To Pass Cost Increases.

o  o  o

Republicans worry a national sales tax bill would be a ‘political gift’ for Democrats.

o  o  o

Major Social Security trust funds could be tapped out by 2033: CBO.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 29, 2023

Today is the birthday of journalist and inventor Thomas Paine (1737–1809.)

On this day in 1845 Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” was published.

And today is the birthday of actor Tom Selleck (born 1945), best known for playing the title role of Magnum, P.I.. He is an avid shooter and quite pro-gun.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 104 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 $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 104 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Risk Management for Small Business Owners, by T.S.

I’m willing to bet that many SurvivalBlog readers own a small business of some sort. Whether you have a brick-and-mortar store, sell homemade goods at a farmer’s market, or have a “side gig” with eBay or Etsy, figuring out how to make your small business resilient (without much expense) is an excellent use of your time.

I own a small and entirely online business that ships products across the USA. This is currently an additional income source. My “day job” is in IT, where I’m certified in risk management and disaster recovery planning. I’m going to present an industry-standard plan to make your small business resilient, peppered with examples derived from my own business owner experience.

A note on terms–the corporate world has created a hodgepodge of concepts related to resilience. Risk management is about proactively identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks that could cause a disruption. This is related to but distinct from business continuity planning (which builds on risk management and is concerned with keeping the essential functions of your business going during and after a disruption) and disaster recovery planning (which is focused on restoring business functions after a disaster causes your business to halt completely). Today’s article is about risk management. If there’s enough interest, I may write follow-up articles on business continuity and disaster recovery planning.

One more note–a lot of these concepts are intended for large companies with lots of employees and resources to throw at resiliency. Your small business will be at a disadvantage there. But a small business has the advantage of fewer assets and less exposure to risk. As a result, I’ve simplified the industry standard processes to be less time-consuming for a small business owner. If there are any other risk management gurus reading this please forgive me for combining and slimming down a few steps!

Now that those caveats are out of the way, let’s get started. The first steps in risk management are to identify and analyze your risks. This risk assessment, greatly simplified, is “Assets + Hazards + Probability + Impact = Prioritized Risks.”

First, we’ll address assets. Identify the key processes of your business. This could include creating products, managing payments, shipping or delivery, etc. The next step is to identify the assets needed for each process, and assign a value to each. This is somewhat subjective–the value could be the cost to replace the asset, or the value that the asset adds to your business. You can estimate a dollar amount or use broad labels like Low/Medium/High value. Just make sure you stay consistent in how you measure asset value. For this article, we’ll keep it simple and stick to Low/Medium/High. My business sells mostly seasonal items, and I spend a lot of the off-season sourcing products to sell later on. That means I have a sizeable inventory most of the year. Unsurprisingly, when I arrange my business’s assets by value, my inventory is my highest-value asset. Inventory is often a high-value asset for small businesses selling material goods. Vehicles and tools are common high-value assets for businesses providing services.Continue reading“Risk Management for Small Business Owners, by T.S.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Before You Judge Someone In Authority Who Says “Trust The Science” On Vaxxing
Walk A Mile In Their Shoes

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” – James 4:8-17 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 28, 2023

On this day in 1986, the U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Florida, killing all seven aboard, including a schoolteacher who had been chosen as the first American civilian to travel in space.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 104 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 $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 104 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

A 12-Month Preparedness Checklist – Part 2, by Reltney McFee

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

June

June is the month to assess the animals: are their vaccinations current? How is that Veterinary Medic Bag coming along? In addition, while I am out and about, June might be a nice month to function test my generator, and, following the thought that a power failure might require my generator to function, would it not be nice to have, gosh, LIGHT, while poking around getting such things set up?

Why, now that you ask, yes! Yes, light would be pleasant! I checked the batteries in January, and this month’s check both rides on January’s coat tails, as well as specifically focuses on the lights that I carry daily. Years ago, I was an RN working ICU on midnights. On a couple of occasions, the mains power failed and (to my dismay) the emergency generator at the hospital employing me did NOT power up.

It gets might, mighty dark in an ICU at oh-dark-hundred! I now carry two belt flashlights because “1 is none, and 2 is 1”. Due to this “2=1, 1=none” calculus, I also have two pen style flashlights in my shirt pocket at all times, as well as one coin cell click light on my badge, and an Streamlight Proton Light (powered by 4 x LR 41 batteries) on my key ring.

ANIMALS
Are vaccinations current?
Veterinary care supplies: (list)(out-date)(status/condition)
GENERATOR
Function Test/Run under load (heater)
Preventative maintenance: oil change? (Belts/other) need (inspection/servicing)?
LANTERNS AND BATTERIES (see battery list for locations)
Battery charge?
Battery condition?
EVERYDAY CARRY LIGHTS
Penlights
Click Light
O Light
Sure Fire light (on belt)
Thor Fire light (on belt)
RECURRENT CHECKS
Check Radios/Batteries
Change BOB Food and WaterContinue reading“A 12-Month Preparedness Checklist – Part 2, by Reltney McFee”

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:

We had a fairly quiet week here at the ranch. Because we are in the midst of mailing out orders for USB archive sticks, I had to make two extra trips to town. Since the Rawles Ranch is so remote, trips to town consume almost half a workday. Oh well, at least it is a scenic drive, with lots of opportunities to see wildlife.

The weather had been nice for a couple of weeks, with occasional sunshine, and temperatures often above freezing. But on Friday night a cold front came in and we got five inches of snow.

With cold weather, we’ve gone back to more frequent rotation of the electric stock tank heaters. Our stock tanks are positioned in pairs. During cold spells, if we don’t shift the heaters between tanks “morning-and-night” then we have to sledgehammer the ice off the top of the colder tank, to make the switch.

Now, Lily’s report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.

And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.

And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.” – Genesis 48:13-22 (KJV)