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, another flying video from Kitfox pilot Trent Palmer.  (See the Idaho section.)

Idaho

The latest from Kitfox bush pilot Trent Palmer: Fly-In Fishing For Brown Trout.

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My friend Commander Zero of the Notes From The Bunker blog tipped me to this news article: Idaho hunter finds remains of man missing for 53 years.

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Over at Redoubt News: Idaho’s Kangaroo Court House “Ethics” Committee is Back at it.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“If the basic job of the ‘dissident’ movements is to serve truth, that is, to serve the real aims of life, and if that necessarily develops into a defense of individuals and their right to a free and truthful life (that is, a defense of human rights and a struggle to see the laws respected), then another stage of this approach, perhaps the most mature stage so far, is what Václav Benda called the development of “parallel structures.”

When those who have decided to live within the truth have been denied any direct influence on the existing social structures, not to mention the opportunity to participate in them, and when these people begin to create what I have called the independent life of society, this independent life begins, of itself, to become structured in a certain way. Sometimes there are only very embryonic indications of this process of structuring; at other times, the structures are already quite well developed. Their genesis and evolution are inseparable from the phenomenon of “dissent,” even though they reach far beyond the arbitrarily defined area of activity usually indicated by that term.

What are these structures? Ivan Jirous was the first in Czechoslovakia to formulate and apply in practice the concept of a “second culture.” Although at first he was thinking chiefly of nonconformist rock music and only certain literary, artistic, or performance events close to the sensibilities of those nonconformist musical groups, the term second culture very rapidly came to be used for the whole area of independent and repressed culture, that is, not only for art and its various currents but also for the humanities, the social sciences, and philosophical thought. This second culture, quite naturally, has created elementary organizational forms: samizdat editions of books and magazines, private performances and concerts, seminars, exhibitions, and so on. (In Poland all of this is vastly more developed: there are independent publishing houses and many more periodicals, even political periodicals; they have means of proliferation other than carbon copies, and so on. In the Soviet Union, samizdat has a longer tradition and clearly its forms are quite different.) Culture, therefore, is a sphere in which the parallel structures can be observed in their most highly developed form. Benda, of course, gives thought to potential or embryonic forms of such structures in other spheres as well: from a parallel information network to parallel forms of education (private universities), parallel trade unions, parallel foreign contacts, to a kind of hypothesis on a parallel economy. On the basis of these parallel structures, he then develops the notion of a “parallel polis” or state or, rather, he sees the rudiments of such a polis in these structures.

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I believe in structures that are not aimed at the technical aspect of the execution of power, but at the significance of that execution in structures held together more by a commonly shared feeling of the importance of certain communities than by commonly shared expansionist ambitions directed outward.There can and must be structures that are open, dynamic, and small; beyond a certain point, human ties like personal trust and personal responsibility cannot work. There must be structures that in principle place no limits on the genesis of different structures. Any accumulation of power whatsoever (one of the characteristics of automatism) should be profoundly alien to it. They would be structures not in the sense of organizations or institutions, but like a community. Their authority certainly cannot be based on long-empty traditions, like the tradition of mass political parties, but rather on how, in concrete terms, they enter into a given situation. Rather than a strategic agglomeration of formalized organizations, it is better to have organizations springing up ad hoc, infused with enthusiasm for a particular purpose and disappearing when that purpose has been achieved. The leaders’ authority ought to derive from their personalities and be personally tested in their particular surroundings, and not from their position in any nomenklatura. They should enjoy great personal confidence and even great lawmaking powers based on that confidence. This would appear to be the only way out of the classic impotence of traditional democratic organizations, which frequently seem founded more on mistrust than mutual confidence, and more on collective irresponsibility than on responsibility. It is only with the full existential backing of every member of the community that a permanent bulwark against creeping totalitarianism can be established. These structures should naturally arise from below as a consequence of authentic social self-organization; they should derive vital energy from a living dialogue with the genuine needs from which they arise, and when these needs are gone, the structures should also disappear. The principles of their internal organization should be very diverse, with a minimum of external regulation. The decisive criterion of this self-constitution should be the structure’s actual significance, and not just a mere abstract norm.

Both political and economic life ought to be founded on the varied and versatile cooperation of such dynamically appearing and disappearing organizations. As far as the economic life of society goes, I believe in the principle of self-management, which is probably the only way of achieving what all the theorists of socialism have dreamed about, that is, the genuine (i.e., informal) participation of workers in economic decision making, leading to a feeling of genuine responsibility for their collective work. The principles of control and discipline ought to be abandoned in favor of self-control and self-discipline.” – Václav Havel, from: The Power of the Powerless

Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 4, 2021

October 4, 1923 was the birthday of the late Charlton Heston, who was born John Charles Carter. He died April 5, 2008. He is often remembered for movies like Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, Soylent Green, The Planet of the Apes, and the survivalist classic The Omega Man.

October 4th is also the anniversary of the Tongo Tongo, Niger Ambush, in 2017.  Americans KIA: Staff Sgt. Bryan C Black, Sgt. First Class Jeremiah W Johnson, Sgt. La David T. Johnson, and Staff Sgt. Dustin M Wright.

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Today’s feature article is a pistol review written by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Heckler & Koch USP .45 ACP Compact, by Pat Cascio

Anyone who is the least bit familiar with the HK line of USP handguns, will surely know that these are large guns – even their “compact” models are large. Their USP line-up was designed to last a lifetime with very little chance of things breaking or going wrong. I had an early HK USP 9mm full-sized model, and to be sure, it is one big handgun – it was designed for duty use, by military and law enforcement. They are not especially suited for concealed carry – although I carried the full-sized USP 9mm concealed for quite some time – close to a year. It wasn’t an easy pistol to conceal – took the right holster and clothing.

Our own US Navy SEALs have used the HK .45 ACP SOCOM version for many missions – and that gun is much too big to conceal, and if I recall, it weighs about 5-pounds with the suppresor – ouch! However, it was meant to serve many different applications and it carried them all out as designed. I never owned the full-sized civilian version of the USP chambered in .45 ACP – never found one at my usual FFL haunts, either new ones or used versions.

Today, we are looking at the HK USP Compact .45 ACP. It is a great pistol, for concealed carry or even duty use. Now, we have to keep in mind, when talking about an HK USP “compact” pistol, they are still rather large and heavy.

As many readers will no doubt notice in the pictures of my particular Compact version the HK mounting rail that was proprietary to early HK pistols, has been modified, so it is now Picatinny compatible. I purchased this gun used, and whoever owned it before had taken some tools to the rail and opened it up, so it would accept many contemporary accessories. Unfortunately, they did a terrible modification job on the gun. This butchery resulted in the USP being priced “oh-so-right”. So I could overlook the basement modification work, as I rarely mount lights or lasers on my handguns to start with. And I then cleaned up some of the kitchen table sloppy work, as best as I could.Continue reading“Heckler & Koch USP .45 ACP Compact, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Green Tomato and Apple Chutney

The following recipe for Green Tomato and Apple Chutney is from SurvivalBlog reader St. Funogas.  Here is his description:

This recipe is loosely adapted from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and is a great way to use up some of those end-of-season green tomatoes. This is the best chutney I’ve tried, a spicy-sweet mix that goes well with anything from scrambled eggs and omelets, to a topping for those ho-hum pan-fried pork chops, and even makes a great salsa for chips. I typically use generous heaps when I use it. Once you try it I’m sure you’ll like it and find a variety of ways to use it.

This recipe makes 11-12 pints. For 5-6 pints, cut the recipe in half. I make a few half-pints as well to give to friends as a sample to see if they like it before I commit to giving them a whole pint.

INGREDIENTS

1,900 g Apples (about 16 apples)
3,000 g Green Tomatoes (6½ lbs, about ⅓ – ½ of a 5-gallon bucket)
700 g Onions (about 4 large onions)
1,300 g Brown Sugar (about 6 loosely packed cups)
4 cups Cider Vinegar (1 liter)
3 T Pickling Spice (see recipe below)

PICKLING SPICE INGREDIENTS

2 t Cinnamon
2 t Mustard seeds
1 t Mustard powder
1 t Peppercorns (crushed but not ground)
1 t Ginger
1 t Allspice
1 t Cloves

Mix spices together using generous measures of spices and it should produce 3T in total.

This recipe doesn’t need to be precise as far as the measurements of each of the main ingredients. The key to getting 11-12 pints is to be sure the overall weight of the apples, tomatoes, and onions is around 5,600 grams (~12½ lbs), give or take. I use mostly green tomatoes but a few pink ones always sneak in so work with whatever you have available. Things like bell peppers and tomatillos can also be used to fill in any shortages.

Chutney is the same consistency as pickle relish, with perhaps slightly larger pieces. Use a food processor to dice everything to that size, working in small batches.

DIRECTIONS

1. Add 4 cups of cider vinegar to a stainless steel kettle.
2. Peel, core, and dice the apples, then add to the kettle. To keep the apples from turning brown, peel and dice the apples three at a time and stir them into the vinegar before doing the next three.
3. Core and dice the tomatoes. Weigh out 3,000 grams before dicing and adding to the kettle.
5. Weigh out and dice 700 grams of onions, then add to the kettle.
6. Add 3T of pickling spice and blend everything together in the kettle.

Note: The brown sugar will be added later.

7. Bring to a medium boil and boil for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
8. Add the brown sugar and mix until well dissolved.
9. Reduce the heat and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring frequently until the chutney will mound on a spoon.
10. The canner and jars should be prepared ahead of time. With the basket removed, an average canner will hold 10-11 pint jars. When the chutney is thick enough, ladle into jars leaving ½” (1 cm) of headspace and remove any air bubbles with a small spatula or chopstick. Wipe the rim, put the lid on and screw the band down finger tight.
11. Process for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the lid, then wait five minutes before removing the jars.

NOTES

• Any pieces that were not diced fine enough can be cut with kitchen shears as they rise to the top of the pot during stirring.
• If you’ve never made relish or chutney before, don’t worry that the four cups of vinegar doesn’t look like enough liquid. As everything boils down, water will be released from the apples and tomatoes, increasing the total liquid.
• To decrease the cooking time it takes to thicken the chutney to the right consistency, I ladle off a pint of the liquid towards the end, 5-10 minutes after adding the brown sugar. Seal it in a pint jar and put it in the refrigerator after it cools. This liquid can be used in stir fries and other dishes.
• The apple peels and cores can be used to make your own apple vinegar, a fairly simple process. The peels and cores from this recipe will fill a 2-quart jar enough for making vinegar.

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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

Today, since I’m on the road back to the Rawles Ranch and don’t have much time available for column writing, I’m posting a guest article in lieu of my regular column. It was written by one of my favorite market analysts:

The Fed Is Playing The Biggest Game Of Chicken In History, by Avi Gilburt

(Originally published at the Elliot Wave Technical Analyst, September 21, 2021. Reposted with permision.)

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Yeah, I know everyone is so certain that inflation is what we will be battling for the foreseeable future. The main reason why many of you are so certain we are battling inflation is because you are seeing prices rise on food and other items for which you shop. But, do rising prices really mean we are dealing with the true economic definition of inflation?

To be honest, I really don’t care what you call it. It makes no difference to me since our analysis tells me when to get in and out of the market. You see, I and many others correctly recognize that the stock market leads the economy. So economic definitions have no bearing upon our forward-looking expectations regarding the stock market. And, I have explained why this is the case in past articles:

How To Analyze Market Sentiment Along With Market Fundamentals

Many have vigorously argued with me about this over the past decade during which I have been writing on Seeking Alpha. Yet, none of them have been able to tell you accurately where the market is headed, while we have been quite accurate in our stock market analysis for many years.

In fact, at the time we were bottoming at my target of 2200SPX, a commenter to one of my articles at the time challenged me and suggested that I was 100% wrong in my expectation that the bull market would carry us back to 4000SPX. And, he based his perspective on the “economy.”

He strongly exclaimed that the bull market was dead as it was deeply into bear market territory, and that it was not possible for it to take us to 4000SPX. His argument was that the economy was going to pull the market down a lot further and the 4,000 region was a lot further away than my charts ever suggested. He viewed the market as finally following the economy, from which it was supposedly long divorced according to him. He viewed this as “common sense,” and urged readers to avoid believing that my “chart magic” would take us up to 4000SPX.

Yet, those that have followed my “chart magic” for the last decade know just how well it has performed in the real world, whereas his “common sense” view has been quite misleading and wrong for some time.Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — October 3, 2021

October 3rd is the anniversary of the Mogadishu, Somalia raid. The 18 Americans killed were:

MSG Gary Gordon, 1st SFOD-D
SFC Randy Shughart, 1st SFOD-D
SSG Daniel Busch, 1st SFOD-D
SFC Earl Fillmore, 1st SFOD-D
MSG Timothy Martin, 1st SFOD-D
CPL Jamie Smith, 3/75 Ranger
SPC James Cavaco, 3/75 Ranger
SGT Casey Joyce, 3/75 Ranger
PFC Richard Kowaleski, 3/75 Ranger
SGT Dominic Pilla, 3/75 Ranger
SGT Lorenzo Ruis, 3/75 Ranger
SSG William Cleveland, Jr. 160th SOAR
SSG Thomas Field, 160th SOAR
CW4 Raymond Frank, 160th SOAR
CW3 Clifton Wolcott, 160th SOAR
CW2 Donovan Briley, 160th SOAR
SGT Cornell Houston, 10th MTN DIV
PFC James Martin, 10th MTN DIV

The Somalis killed were unnamed and un-numbered, but estimates range from 315 to 2,000 KIAs.

The events of October 3, 1993 were memorialized in the movie Black Hawk Down.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 97 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. 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,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  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. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.

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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 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!

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More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 97 ends on November 30th, 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.

Hand Sanitizer, A Knife, and Eyeglasses Cleaner, by The Novice

I would like to pass along some odd discoveries for your amusement and edification.

Repurposing Surplus Hand Sanitizer

With the advent of Covid, many micro breweries and chemical companies in our area turned their production capacity to making hand sanitizer. They wanted to do their part to help slow the spread of Covid.

No good deed goes unpunished. On December 29, 2020, the FDA notified these companies that they needed to pay a $14,060 Monograph Drug Facility Fee and $9,373 Contract Manufacturing Organization Facility Fee by February 11, 2021. After significant media outcry, the fees were withdrawn. They are a bitter reminder that the first reflex of many bureaucrats is to exploit the suffering of citizens rather than to alleviate that suffering.

When it became increasingly clear that Covid was not easily transmitted by touching infected surfaces, many companies were left with a huge surplus of hand sanitizer. Some of this surplus made its way to our local thrift stores, where at times it was practically being given away.

Recently I was in a thrift store, and noticed several one-quart sized bottles of hand sanitizer on the shelf. They cost one dollar each. I read the label, and discovered that they consisted of 90% alcohol, with the rest of the ingredients consisting of hydrogen peroxide and glycerin. Since I was not in any immediate need of hand sanitizer, I walked on by.

Later in the week, a question came to mind. I wondered if this surplus hand sanitizer could be re-purposed.

I returned to the thrift store a couple of days later to discover that all of the 90% alcohol hand sanitizer was gone. A single, quart-sized bottle of 80% alcohol hand sanitizer remained, at a cost of two dollars. I bought it for testing.Continue reading“Hand Sanitizer, A Knife, and Eyeglasses Cleaner, by The Novice”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” – Revelation 21:1-7  (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — October 2, 2021

This marks the birthday of Mohandes Gandhi (1869–1948). Ben Kingsley did a fine job of portraying him in the award-winning movie Gandhi.

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Today we present two short feature guest articles written by SurvivalBllog readers. They were both too short to qualify for the judging in the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running the contest. Round 97 ends on November 30th, 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.

This is Not My Planned TEOTWAWKI , by S.F. in Oregon

I’ve planned and prepared for a panoply of disasters: Financial collapse?  Check.  EMP strike?  Check.  Mutant Biker Apocalypse?  Check.  Slow descent into Third World conditions?  Hmmm…  This is not the TEOTWAWKI I prepared for.  So, let’s regroup and reassess.
As society collapses slowly in what can only be described as a slow-motion-controlled demolition of civilization, what are we witnessing?

Labor shortages, at least for now.  Perhaps the end of unemployment benefits will reverse this, but if this is planned (The Great Reset), then it may continue.  How does this play out?  The other day a friend who does not make a habit of refilling his gas tank at the 1/2 way point had to drive all over town to find an open station at 11pm.  He ended up having to borrow some of my ethanol-free stabilized gasoline stash.  Okay, that prep was still useful.  What else?  Deliveries slow down.  My fulfillment house is now taking twice as long to ship inventory for my business.  The other day a domestic  FedEx delivery got stuck at a terminal hub for days.  Why? Labor shortages.  This means that things you want to purchase including parts for repairs take longer and longer to source.

I suspect that there will come a time when the delay times extend faster than the production times increase.  Think of it this way:  Once a swimmer reaches a point where the ocean current is pushing him out to sea faster than he can swim to shore, he’s not going to get back to dry land.  We may already be at that point for certain items.  In time, many everyday items may become ‘unobtainium’.

Continue reading“This is Not My Planned TEOTWAWKI , by S.F. in Oregon”

Books, Reviews, and Censorship, by M.M.

As a historian and self-confessed bibliophile, I despise censorship of any kind by anyone at any time. If you disagree with an author, the simple course of action is to not purchase their work(s).

With the Internet, books are easier to come by today than in any other time in human history. You can shop in thousands of bookstores and never leave home. Click some buttons and the book is en route to your mailbox and will arrive in a few days.

An easy way to access the internet is via your so-called smartphone. What a wonderful tool. You can reach out to friends and family from just about anywhere on the planet. You can order stuff from anywhere on the planet. You can take photographs anywhere at any time. The flip side is bad characters and government can reach out to you, also. Your smartphone is imminently hackable, and your life is an open book. The folks who invented the smartphone just issued a new security alert warning of just that. Please download the latest software update to protect yourself.

They have announced the introduction of their thirteenth version of the device. I do not own one so I will withhold opinion on the value of the new attractions. My idiot phone (an older flip cellphone) meets all of my needs.

As I was writing this review article, I received an offer in the mail from my telephone service provider to extend my service for two more years. In return for which they will send me a “free” smartphone. Sorry folks, I learned a long time ago nothing is free. So, why is it so important to my provider that I carry a smartphone? Is my information that worthy of their analysis? I have no desire to collect information for them to be stored on the ‘cloud’.Continue reading“Books, Reviews, and Censorship, by M.M.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make 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 this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I’ll be in transit the day that this is posted, and the following day, so I don’t have a lot to report. All that I can say is that I’m greatly looking forward to getting back to the Rawles Ranch.  I’ll have a lot of catching up to do there, and it looks like I’ll have a lot of orders to pack, since our shopping cart system has been reactivated.

“Meanwhile, back at the ranch…” my lovely wife Avalanche Lily has some details for you.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”