A Piece of The Action: Pricing a Gallon of Fuel

As I was pumping $5.96 per-gallon diesel into my pickup’s tank the other day, I marveled at how quickly the dollar digits raced by, on the pump’s display. I began to ponder what costs go into each gallon of fuel. This sent me off on a web-wandering search for some relevant data on what drives fuel prices. Most of that can be summed up in one word: Government.

Liquid fuels are some of the most highly regulated and heavily taxed commodities in the world. The reasons for this are obvious: They are highly concentrated forms of potential energy. Think of them like liquid gold or liquid dynamite. They have the power to accomplish great things. Whoever controls these fuels — and the commerce in them — effectively controls modern society.  And of course, governments like to control nearly every aspect of our lives. So by controlling fuel, starting from leases and drilling through refining and distribution all the way to your local pump, they assert their control and extract their multiple “pieces of the action.” Ah, the Mafia must be envious!

Taxes

The amount of tax — state and Federal, combined — that is tacked on to each gallon of fuel is now more than the 49 cents per gallon that I was paying for fuel at the pump en toto, back when I was in high school. The magnitude of that accumulation of taxes seems both absurd and obscene to me.  These tax increases were added gradually, so they largely went unnoticed by the Generally Dumb Public (GDP). As always, the GDP remains oblivious to what drives prices, the full extent of taxation, and even the nature of money itself.Continue reading“A Piece of The Action: Pricing a Gallon of Fuel”

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. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at stocking up on magazines, as a legislation hedge. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Reported back on July 14th: Gold hammered, analysts warn of capitulation event if price drops below pre-pandemic levels.

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Copper/gold ratio shows Fed monetary policy is too tight – MKS PAMP.

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: Container Shipping Spot Rates Still Falling: What Will Be The New Normal?

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Paul Craig Roberts: The United States Does Not Have an Economy.

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‘The worst bear market in my lifetime’: Here’s why Jim Rogers thinks stocks will decline for a long time — but he also suggests 2 shockproof assets for protection.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 21, 2022

July 21st is the birthday of Ernest Hemingway. He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He committed suicide on July 2, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho, after being diagnosed with haemochromatosis, and after electroshock treatments failed to lift him from chronic alcoholic depression. He lived a sad life but was a great writer.

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Today we present an article that is too short to be considered as an entry for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Round 101 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.

An Ex-Pat Homesteading Croatia, by Robert S.

I have moved to Croatia from Israel to join a self-sustaining farmer in building an organic permaculture homestead.

I would love to share with you today my homesteading experience in a few categories. I hope something of this can help somebody with something, I am young and learning all the time so forgive me if the info is not relevant.

Health

The usage of organic foods as preventive medicine is a key but nevertheless when overstated in any direction can be overused.

We produce our own meat eggs cheese and vegetables.

Consume Curcuma on daily basis mixed with oil and black pepper.

Our diet is based on combination of the keto diet and other types of ideas.
Mainly fats and proteins but let loose on cake if the desire is there.

As you all know, preparing for a disaster is a lifetime of a job.

We are very far from our farming goals but the tractor saved our backs.Continue reading“An Ex-Pat Homesteading Croatia, by Robert S.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— 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. Today, we present some links to articles on censorship and restrictions on gun ownership. My late mother was fond of describing government policy and actions in modern society this way: “It is all about control.”

UK Breaks Record for Highest Temperature

The AP reports: UK breaks record for highest temperature as Europe sizzles.

A 500-Mile Amazon Rainforest Trek

Meet the survivalist who trekked 500 miles across the Amazon rainforest during monsoon season. here is a quote:

“Audel and his team began their adventure in the rainforests of southern Guyana, travelling north across 3,000 square miles of exposed savannah, the Kanuku Mountain forest and snake-infested mangroves to reach the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, they faced a barrage of life-threatening challenges, from deadly bacteria, flesh-eating bugs, predators, infections and flash floods.”

Secondhand Censorship: Big Tech’s Thought-Policing

The Secondhand Censorship Effect: The Real Impact of Big Tech’s Thought-Policing.

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 20, 2022

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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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 101 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 low-cost 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 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 LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 101 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.

Eight Uncommon Canning Techniques, by St. Funogas

Many of us have been canning for so long that we still have the recipe for that T-rex stew we first canned while trying to figure out the mysteries of pressure canners. Others are just starting out on this fulfilling journey on the joys of home production and the uplifting feelings of self-reliance that come from home canning food for long-term storage that we raised and grew ourselves. I hope some of these techniques can help newbies and veterans alike in this year’s canning projects as you incorporate some of them into your own canning practices.

My family did some canning when I was growing up, mostly jam and home-grown peaches and apricots. Those were my first lessons and much of what I’ve learned about canning has come from personal experiences over the years. Some of my current techniques took far too long for me to figure out so I thought I’d pass a few of those along and perhaps save a little learning time for you.

The things discussed here are not typically mentioned in books and articles on canning. Some of them go counter to conventional “wisdom,” which is all too often based on what seems to be true instead of what’s actually true, including some pertaining to home canning. For this reason, I prefer to test things for myself whenever possible. In doing so, I’ve found that many things are correct, but many are not. Don’t be afraid to do the same and find out for yourself.Continue reading“Eight Uncommon Canning Techniques, by St. Funogas”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: 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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First, foremost, and for your immediate action on mitigation: Have you seen this bill, now undergoing markup, in congress? H.R. 1808. This is REALLY bad legislation: This ban is like a flashback to 1994, but even worse. It is patterned after California’s notoriously-bad semi-auto and magazine bans. Unlike the Federal 1994-2004 ban, it has NO sunset clause! It includes a ban on new 11+ round magazines, it would ban any semi-auto pistols with a threaded muzzle — even .22 rimfire pistols. It would also vaguely ban the production of any parts that make semi-autos shoot at a higher rate of fire — i.e. anything short of full auto, such as binary triggers, forced reset triggers, or even short-reset/match triggers. The bill’s text does NOT properly define “designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm”, so bans on parts would presumably be left up to the ATF. And, unlike the Federal 1994-2004 ban, this bill bans private transfers of grandfathered so-called “assault” guns. All of those would then have to be sold through FFLs, with a background check and a Form 4473 put on file.  This legislation is evil. It is aimed at disarming the citizenry of the guns that are most capable of repelling an invasion, or overthrowing a tyrant.

Markup of the bill is scheduled to begin in the House today. According to the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), Pelosi & Company are making moves behind closed doors to send H.R. 1808 to a House floor vote next week. This bill will surely sail through the House, but it might be stoppable in the U.S. Senate. Please contact your state’s two U.S. Senators and urge them to do everything in their power to stop the Senate version of this bill. (A Senate bill number has not yet been assigned.) Please urge them to filibuster it, but first add several “killer” amendments.

Some suggested killer amendments:

  • Adding the Hearing Protection Act, removing silencers/suppressors from the NFA.
  • Remove short-barreled rifles and shotguns from the NFA.
  • Implement nationwide reciprocity for concealed carry permits. (Under the Equal Protection clause — just like various drivers’ licenses are recognized in all 50 states, the territories, and DC.)
  • Reverse the Hughes Amendment to FOPA-’86, thereby re-opening the registry for new privately-owned machineguns.
  • Declare a 180-day registration amnesty for all NFA items, with no tax or just a $5 tax on each registration, during that amnesty.
  • Redefine the term “antique firearm” to be any gun or receiver more than 70 years old.

As a fallback, in the event that you hear that “compromise negotiations” are in progress on H.R. 1808 between the Democrats and the RINOs in the Senate, stock up HEAVILY on current configuration ARs —  with pistol grips and threaded muzzles. Also, buy up your lifetime supply of 11+ round magazines and links/belts. And, if it starts to look like the passage of this bill is a certainty, then expend some of your savings or even borrow money from within your family to buy additional ARs and full-capacity magazines for every gun that you own or that you plan to own! I fully expect magazines to triple in price, within a year, if this bill passes in both chambers of congress. Stack them deep!

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Indiana: ‘Good Samaritan’ with a gun stopped Greenwood Park Mall shooting, went against mall’s code of conduct JWR’s Comment:  With an average of less than 300 armed officers per 100,000 citizens, police can’t be everywhere to deter most crime and mass murderers. But a well-armed citizenry can be.

Here is a follow-up at ABC News: Police applaud armed citizen who killed 20-year-old mall shooter.

And some further analysis: Mall Shooting Outcome Devastates the Media Anti-Gun Crusade.

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Andre liked this thought-provoking essay: I Have Nothing To Hide.

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F.J. sent this: How Dangerous Are Flash Floods? Find Out in POV Footage From Capitol Reef NP.

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Reader C.O. recommended this piece, at Redoubt News: Dismantling the Constitution: Police No Longer Have to Honor the Right to Remain Silent.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of freemen. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.” – Patrick Henry

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 19, 2022

July 19th is coincidentally the birthday of handgun designers Samuel Colt (born 1814) and Gaston Glock (born 1929).

On July 19, 1799: The Rosetta Stone was found by a French soldier serving under Napoleon.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 101 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 low-cost 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 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 LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 101 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.

Common Headaches in Austere Environments, by DocDogMom

Introductory Disclaimer: The following is not to be considered formal medical advice. Please consult your physician regarding proper diagnosis and treatment of headaches or any condition.

Headaches are some of the most common maladies that I treat in my healthcare practice. Without question, I expect these to increase even more during difficult times. I would like to offer a few tips regarding treatment of the most frequent types of headaches, in the event that your physician is not available.

Headaches of many types are typically triggered by factors such as dehydration, poor diet, overexertion, stress, illness, trauma, and sleep deprivation. This can interfere with a person’s level of functioning, including attention and concentration, problem-solving, endurance, and resilience. As such, a seemingly innocuous condition such as a headache can potentially put the well-being of an entire group in danger.

First off, there are many different types of headaches. The best treatment is determined once the proper diagnosis is confirmed. It is beyond the scope of this article to offer an overview of all headache types, which would take several volumes. I will focus on the most common types, which are easily recognized and treatable in austere environments.

Rebound headache. This is also known as medication overuse headache. This is a headache that occurs upon abrupt discontinuation of various substances, such as caffeine and over-the-counter pain relievers. In other words, those of us who are accustomed to drinking our daily cups of coffee or soda may have severe headaches once this is no longer available. It may also be seen in patients who use over-the-counter (OTC) headache medication daily for months on end. Contrary to what the pharmaceutical industry would like the public to believe, these medications are not intended for chronic use. They should be taken only a few days per week, or regularly if needed for a limited period of time, a few weeks at most. Fortunately, these types of headaches are temporary. It typically resolves on its own after days to a few weeks. Recognizing this, the time to treat this is now, prior to exposure to a stressful environment.Continue reading“Common Headaches in Austere Environments, by DocDogMom”

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 the 2022 fire season in the American Redoubt.   (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

Update: Northern Rockies Geographical Area Summer Fire Season Outlook.

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And for the U.S. and Canada, as of July 12, 2022: North American Seasonal Fire Assessment and Outlook.

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Forest Service grazing decision irks environmental group. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)\

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Spokane policeman dies in Bonner County golf cart crash.

Idaho

Jury finds Post Falls gas station shooter guilty of multiple charges.

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Rafters left stranded by Wild River Shuttles on the Main and Middle Fork of the Salmon River.

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Idaho Falls holding mutton bustin’ qualifier ahead of War Bonnett Rodeo.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Every member of the State ought diligently to read and to study the constitution of his country and teach the rising generation to be free. By knowing their rights, they will sooner perceive when they are violated, and be the better prepared to defend and assert them.” – John Jay, First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court