The Efficacy of Insurgency in Modern America – Part 3, by Just A Dad

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

Military Training

Standard training for United States military troops is commonly called boot camp, basic training, or some variation of this. This training takes place at any one of several forts and bases around the United States. It lasts between 8 and 10 weeks depending on which service branch is entered. All members of all branches receive basic firearms training using standard-issue rifles/carbines. Any additional training occurs depending on your rating, duty assignment, and abilities.

Handgun training is relatively rare in the U.S. military except for some members of units with handguns in their Tables of Organization and Equipment (TO&Es). Even those officers and NCOs issued handguns rarely get training equivalent to that of police departments in the United States. This is simply due to the roles required for each type of organization. In the military, handguns are considered backup weapons. But for police departments, they are primary weapons. Law Enforcement is not meant to be an assault force, while the military is. Handguns are defensive tools with limited range and stopping power while a rifle or carbine is far more suited to active combat situations.

Basic training in the military is a mixture of classroom learning, physical fitness, and a much smaller emphasis on firearms and tactics. Again, these are areas that are expanded based on duty assignment or individual abilities of the soldiers. More in-depth training in these areas tends to take place in additional qualification schools, over time. [JWR Adds:  Only a very small number of military service members ever receive sniper training.] More importantly, basic training and police academies are designed to institute in the soldiers and police officers obedience to their commanding officers, organizational rules, and the rule of law. Individual thought is not appreciated in the common soldier or police officer. Rather, that is allowed and sometimes promoted only when individuals gain in rank. This is a weakness and a strength for both military and Law Enforcement in the United States.

There are only a limited number of advanced-trained military and law enforcement in the United States. It is these units would be used to strike at known insurgent targets. To prevent being located and attacked, insurgents would need to restrict their radio communications and adopt a largely disconnected cellular organization. This could make it impossible to field larger units to combat.

For insurgents, striking at regular units would have only limited benefits. It would be better to instead strike at leaders — both elected and appointed. Several cells might briefly work together to strike at special counterinsurgency teams. This would mean a greater likelihood of taking casualties. However, it would also help lead to assistance from within by regular troops and law enforcement. It should be assumed that there is a percentage of military and law enforcement that would either refuse or even actively work with insurgents if they were ordered to pacify the United States as a whole. Disarming the citizenry is blatantly unconstitutional, so many in both the military and law enforcement would balk at it.Continue reading“The Efficacy of Insurgency in Modern America – Part 3, by Just A Dad”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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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 look at the arrest of the NFAC’s “Grandmaster Jay.”

NFAC Leader Faces Federal Charges

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site:  ‘Grandmaster Jay,’ leader of NFAC militia that demonstrated in Louisville, arrested on federal charge. JWR’s Comments: Readers may recall that this is the same poseur who was seen wearing Straight Outta eBay fake Airsoft gaming “body armor” at several of his organization’s public displays of force.  Lest we poke too much fun at him, consider this: If these were conservatives who had done the same thing, then they too would have been charged. Hence, a lesson learned:  If you want to see details of the law enforcement perched on rooftops that are glassing you while at a rally, then use your binoculars or your camera’s telephoto lens– NOT your rifle’s scope!  At such public events, rifles are best kept slung muzzle-up or muzzle-down, to avoid charges of “brandishing a weapon”. Ditto for any use of laser pointers. Leave them turned off until any shooting starts. Note that state and local laws and norms of behavior vary widely. Know before you go.

New Radar Satellite Can See Inside Buildings

Jeff sent this: New Satellite Can Peer Inside Buildings, Day or Night.

Few Details Available on The Big Hack

Reader C.B. sent us this: US agencies, companies secure networks after huge hack. Here is a snippet:

“The identity of the perpetrator remained unclear. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of an ongoing investigation, told The Associated Press on Monday that Russian hackers are suspected.

The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, said the attack was carried out by Russian government hackers who go by the nicknames APT29 or Cozy Bear and are part of that nation’s foreign intelligence service.

The intrusion came to light after a prominent cybersecurity firm, FireEye, determined it had been breached and alerted that foreign governments and major corporations were also compromised. The company did not say who it suspected, though many experts believed Russia was responsible given the level of skill involved.”

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 23, 2020

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December 23rd is the anniversary of the establishment of the exclusive private banking cartel known as The Federal Reserve, in 1913. I recommend the book The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve.

And December 23rd is the birthday of Founding Father and Supreme Court Justice John Jay. (Born 1745, died May 17, 1829.)

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Harvest Guard Reusable Canning Lids is offering a year-end 20% discount on all of the items at www.CanningLids.com, exclusively for SurvivalBlog readers.  This discount is effective immediately and will remain in effect through January 3, 2021 simply by entering the coupon code SURVIVALBLOG during checkout.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 92 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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!

Round 92 ends on January 31, 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.

The Efficacy of Insurgency in Modern America – Part 2, by Just A Dad

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(Continued from Part 1.)

Insurgencies can be won in many ways, “including overthrow of the government, successful annexation of independent territory, a marked recognition of minority rights or property rights, or, for the purposes of this study, dramatic political success.” (Connable & Libicki, 2010) Within the United States one could win an insurgency by utilizing a number of the following approaches, or all of them. Ensuring property rights that have been taken by the current government are reinstated. Guaranteeing that regardless of race, color, creed, or religion one would be fully accepted as long as they followed the basic tenets given. Guaranteeing all persons have equal voice and getting rid of the currently bloated overreaching government as it exists now. Reinstating the complete total rights of all felons who were incarcerated for “victimless” crimes. Reducing, dismantling or completely changing the current system of laws. Any one or all of these could be incorporated into the initial statements released to people to gain support.

Keeping these commitments would be essential to the success of the venture.

A successful insurgency in the United States would require a large base of disenfranchised individuals in reasonable location to each other to support it. For example, the U.S. Civil War of the 1860s is the best example of this, though the initial belligerents failed. The Northern states gained an upper hand when they utilized what is known today as virtue signaling to rally support. By freeing only the slaves in those states that were in rebellion, Lincoln destabilized the South. And with the massive influx of recruits in the form of Europeans fleeing famine alongside the industrial ability of the North and you have a recipe for disaster that the South was unable to overcome. Such issues would need to be avoided for any modern insurgency to survive and win in the United States. Obviously, slavery is no longer an issue. However, there are other issues that could and would be used in the same way today.

Zambri notes: “In many cases, governmental institutions could not keep pace with societal change, leading to disorder and instability. This instability left societies vulnerable to insurgent influences. Insurgents could thus take advantage of this flux to gain popular support, by promising alternatives to the government. The government, unable to ameliorate the problems of the population, would increasingly be isolated and weakened. ” (Zambri, et al., 2017) This single phrase explains how a group could effectively engage in insurgency against the current government of the United States. Current state governments of world powers are bloated monstrosities that fail in almost every metric to engage the public. In fact the current sitting government (elected individuals) hold some of the worst approval ratings in history, and yes, this is all of them not just one party or branch.

Successful insurgency requires the same items that successful business requires: Hard work, money, support, and luck in timing.

Demographics

Understanding the population of the region where one decides to form the base for an insurgency is absolutely essential to its success. Attempting to draw support from middle and upper-class individuals in largely urban environments would see negative results. Drawing support from working-class but poor urbanites and rural working-class would have far better results. This is why many insurgencies that have been successful were based originally in the ghettos and rural areas of the nations that they eventually claimed. Having a gifted statesman (this includes men and women) at the helm would be essential. Magnetic personalities would be the greatest asset in today’s world of social media.Continue reading“The Efficacy of Insurgency in Modern America – Part 2, by Just A Dad”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, tools, books, and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how-to” self-sufficiency videos. There is also an emphasis on links to sources for storage food and a variety of storage and caching containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on the upcoming resumption of order-taking, over at my side business: Elk Creek Company. (See the Featured Antique Gun of the Week section.)

Books:

This week I’m recommending some important reference books for anyone interested in investing in antique guns.

o  o  o

The latest edition of the key reference book by Supica and Nahas: Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson

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A handy pocket reference book, that is sadly now out of print: Colt’s Dates of Manufacture, 1837 to 1978

o  o  o

Mauser Military Rifles of the World

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Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms and Their Values

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41st Edition Blue Book of Gun Values

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Parker Gun Identification & Serialization

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Several readers have suggested this recenty-released book: Prairie Fire: Guidebook for Surviving Civil War 2.

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 22, 2020

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December 22nd is the anniversary of the death of SP4 James T. Davis, the first uniformed American combat casualty of the Vietnam War, in 1961. This ASA soldier (of the 3rd Radio Research Unit) was killed in a Viet Cong ambush on a road outside Saigon.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 92 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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!

Round 92 ends on January 31, 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.

The Efficacy of Insurgency in Modern America – Part 1, by Just A Dad

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Editor’s Introductory Note: Because of its length, the following essay will be presented in three parts. The footnotes can be found at the end of Part 3. – JWR

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“Insurgency” as a word is relatively new in application. Where there is rule of law an insurgency is simply an act of rebellion against the current lawful authority. For the purposes of this essay, we will be looking at many different conflicts, some fall within this definition and others do not.

While this essay will not address every recorded rebellion, we will establish a timeline using significant rebellions or insurgent activity until current times. Additionally, we will address the efficacy of insurgency in the United States of America, specifically modern insurgency.

One of the first recorded rebellions occurred around 2700 B.C., it is known as The Seth rebellion of the 2nd Dynasty, in Ancient Egypt. (Newberry, 1922) At this time there is not much known about it, though there were major famines at the time which may have helped increase the potential for rebellion. From that time to the present-day, thousands of rebellions, insurgencies, and revolutions have taken place in every corner of the world against every form of government that has existed.

Since the focus of this essay is the United States of America as a nation and the efficacy of insurgency against it, we will focus instead on the various incidents that have occurred after the Revolutionary War that birthed this nation. Historically rebellions of any type include belligerents or insurgents fighting against a more powerful foe. The United States, as of 2018, has a standing combined military force numbering 1,119,003 individuals. This includes 471,990 U.S. Army personnel, 325,395 U.S. Navy personnel, and 321,618 U.S. Air Force personnel.

Within the U.S. military exists the largest most advanced air force, naval forces, and ground-based technical options. Though Russia and China both have significantly more tanks than the United States, superiority is maintained by virtue of the manned and unmanned air ability held by the United States military. Air superiority has in many instances been the deciding factor when it comes to conflicts since the advent of aircraft as a military asset. It should be noted that even with no air ability current insurgencies and “terrorist actions” in the Middle East as well as Eastern and Northern Africa we have seen insurgencies continue to grow.

What Constitutes Winning an Insurgency?

The use of guerrilla tactics and localized nature of the fighters have made it difficult to truly “win” any of these conflicts. The continued fluid nature of these conflicts as well as the lack of understanding by many in the United States has led our forces to be mired in endless and mostly fruitless attempts to police a population that is tired of war and of us. Philip Gordon writes, “Victory will come only when Washington succeeds in discrediting the terrorists’ ideology and undermining their support. These achievements, in turn, will require accepting that the terrorist threat can never be eradicated completely and that acting as though it can [be] will only make it worse.” (Gordon, 2007)

In a more recent article Hal Brands states, “Getting deeply involved in the Middle East ran the risk of making America the target of that radicalism and anger; it also ran the risk of distracting the United States from other areas where the prospects for constructive change seemed more promising.” (Brands, 2019) The understanding is that because of the glaring disparity in wealth, income, and social ability there is a large easily-guided grouping of persons that can be and are used regularly as cannon fodder by those desiring change for their own benefit. Certainly, there can be seen some benefits as a whole to increasing the educational opportunities, social and economic abilities of all individuals residing around the globe today. However, due in no small part to the highly radical behavior of religion applied in several key areas within the Middle East, these ideals championed in other places around the globe are decades from fruition in the Middle East.Continue reading“The Efficacy of Insurgency in Modern America – Part 1, by Just A Dad”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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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, in a special edition of this column we’re featuring freely-available public web cams available for viewing throughout the American Redoubt region. These can be a lot of fun to view–especially those featuring wildlife.  View them in winter can also give you some insights on climate and weather in the region as well as skiing conditions, airport runway/taxiway condition, and road conditions.

Idaho

Video: Watch seven species of north Idaho wildlife pass by one remote camera

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In the backcountry: Johnson Creek Airport WebCam

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McCall, Idaho. (At the golf course.)

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Idaho Falls Zoo: Penguin Cave Cam

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South Fork of the Snake River Live Webcam

o  o  o

Links to most Idaho web cams

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 21, 2020

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On December 21, 1620, William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

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Today marks the Winter Solstice. I now feel quite ready for longer days! – JWR

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My #1 Son wrote to mention that the newly-released book that we co-authored is selling well, and that it has garnered several quite positive reviews: Survival Retreats & Relocation: A Guide to Finding Your Secure and Sustainable Home is available in softcover, or as an e-book.  If you’ve read it, then we’d appreciate seeing your review, at Amazon.com. Thanks!

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And today we’re featuring another product review by our redoubtable Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Ruger LCRx .357 Magnum, by Pat Cascio

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We can’t please all the people, all the time – as much as we’d like to. I get quite a few requests for more articles on all-steel pistols, or revolvers. As I’m sure many readers know, the tread for the past couple of years has been for polymer-framed semiauto pistols, not many all-steel or steel and alloy pistols are being made these days. As to revolvers – because everyone wants a semiauto handgun, there isn’t a lot of brand-new revolvers on the market. And, let’s be honest, everything that can be said about revolvers in general, has already been said and reported – just not a lot of earth-shaking news when it comes to revolvers.

Still, I believe the lowly, humble revolver is still a very useful firearm, for self-defense, hunting, or just target shooting. I used to almost carry revolvers exclusively when I was younger – everyone did, and for good reason. Many semiauto pistols weren’t totally reliable with the then JHP or JSP ammo – they didn’t feed 100% of the time. I remember owning a S&W Model 39-2, and I bought S&W branded 9mm JHP ammo for it – and the gun wouldn’t feed it – at all. I tried some JSP ammo – same thing. Very strange, that a gunmaker would make ammo, that you purchased and it wouldn’t feed in their own guns, eh? With revolvers, you don’t have this problem at all – the ammunition is placed in the cylinder of a revolver, and it fires – simple as that. However, of the past 20-years or so – maybe longer – ammo makers have come a long way, in producing ammo – especially JHP ammo – that will reliably feed in just about any well-made pistol. So, the tread has shifted away from revolvers to hi-capacity semiauto pistols.

Some years back, I tested the Ruger LCR revolver in not only .38 Special, but one in .357 Magnum as well. The LCR in .38 Secial was a little powerhouse itself. However, the same gun chambered in .357 Magnum was a killer in the recoil department. We often call it “kick” when we really mean “recoil.” I quickly divested myself of that LCR in .357 Mag. However, not too many years ago, I got my hands on a Ruger LCRx in .38 Special – and my sample LCRx has a 3-inch barrel – not the shorter 2-inch barrel and it had a much larger rubber grip on the gun – it was (almost) a real pleasure to shoot – even with hot +P ammo.

Today, we’re looking at the Ruger LCRx in .357 Magnum – and as already noted, this model comes with a 3-inch barrel, not the stubby 2-inch version on the LCR – BTW, the LCR is double-action only – no way to cock the hammer for single-action shooting. Then again, the LCR is meant to be a close-up self-defense handgun, and you fire it double-action – there’s really not a lot of time to cock a hammer when things get down and dirty – so you just aim the gun, and pull the trigger.Continue reading“Ruger LCRx .357 Magnum, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Roast Goose With Potato Stuffing

The following recipe for Roast Goose With Potato Stuffing is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book will be one of the many bonus items included in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This special 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be orderable in the third week of January, 2021. (Please mark your calendar!)  The 14th Edition sold out quickly, so place a reminder in your calendar, if you want one.

Ingredients
  • 1 goose (about 8 pounds)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Potato stuffing
  • Flour
  • Salt pork if the goose is not fat
Directions

Select a goose that is about four months old; an old-goose is better braized than roasted. Singe the goose, wash it carefully in_hot w.ater, and wipe it dry before drawing it. – Flatten the-breast-bone by striking it with a rolling-pin. Partly-fill the goose with-potato stuffing, stitch up the openings and truss il. If it is not fat, lay thin slices of pork loin upon the breast, but if the goose has considerable fat, omit the pork. Bake in a hot oven for forty-five minutes, remove it from the oven, pour out all the fat, sprinkle the bird all over with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and return it to the oven.

When the flour is a good brown, pour one cup of hot water into the pan and baste the goose often, dredging it each time with a slight sifting of flour to absorb the fat. Allow eighteen minutes to the pound for a young goose and twenty-five for one that is old. Remove the goose from the pan, add a cup of hot water to the gravy and thicken it, if necessary, with browned flour. Garnish the goose with parsley and serve with giblet gravy.

Goslings may be roasted in the same way, allowing, however, only fifteen minutes to the pound for cooking.

SERVING

Applesauce is often served with roast goose.

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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

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In place of my usual news items and commentary on economics and the markets, I have some housekeeping to do:

My Annual Financial/Investing Disclosures:

By Federal law, I am obliged to make the following annual public disclosures.

For the record: I am presently the sole author of SurvivalBlog’s twice-weekly posted Economics & Investing For Preppers column. I am not a paid investment counselor or adviser. Please see our Provisos page for our detailed disclaimers. My paid consulting is on preparedness, relocation, retreat property development, and related topics–not on investing, per se.

I am not a board member of any corporation. I hold no stocks, bonds, options, registered securities, or ETFs whatsoever. I am not paid or otherwise compensated by any company to promote any investment vehicle or currency.

I do not recommend or endorse any financial particular investment advisor, firm, blog, or web site, although I do quote various advisors and make links to their web sites. Such mentions and links are my own choices, and are never compensated.

While I personally hold precious metals, firearms, ammunition, and other tangibles as a large portion of my portfolio, I have no connection or financial arrangement with any firm, other than that some such firms do buy advertising space in SurvivalBlog, and that we have affiliate advertising contracts in place with others. I do on occasion personally make purchases from these companies. However, I receive no special discounts or other consideration from them. Such advertising relationships have no bearing on the investing news that I report and the recommendations that I make. I personally hold some foreign currencies, but I have never held Forex options. I have never held any Comex options.

We maintain walls of separation between advertising, consulting, and editorial realms. No editorial space or content in this column is ever promised to any advertiser or consulting client. Stephen Cochran of Gainseville Coins voluntarily writes a monthly column for SurvivalBlog, but they are not compensated by me nor vice versa, in any way. I am afforded no special discounts by the firm.  and have received no free merchandise or other favors.

A few article links have been suggested by our advertisers, but we have never been compensated or felt obliged to post them. We do earn commissions on sales of books and other items linked to Amazon.com, through the Amazon Associate program. We universally reject the dozens paid editorial, infographic, product review, and link placement requests that we receive every week via e-mail from spammers, scammers, SEO wonks, and manipulators.

I am not now, nor have I ever been an agent of any foreign nation. After being de-briefed from Special Access Programs (SAPs), I resigned my commission as a U.S. Army Intelligence Corps officer on January 20, 1993. (The day that Bill Clinton first took office.)  I have had no tasking or relationship whatsoever with the U.S. government, the U.S. Army, or any government agencies, other than as a normal taxpaying citizen. I did however work as defense contractor in a technical writing and proposal writing capacity for various defense contracting companies up until July, 2006. I no longer hold an active security clearance. I am a past member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), but have had no contact with that organization since the mid-1990s.

In sum, we do our very best to operate SurvivalBlog.com as ethically as possible. Our editorial integrity is very important to us. We will never betray the trust of our readers. In an age where journalistic prostitution has become the norm in the blogging world, we stand apart.

News Tips:

Please send your economics and investing news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant because they come from folks who closely watch specific markets. If you spot any news that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers, then please send it in. News items from local news outlets that are missed by the news wire services are especially appreciated. And it need not be only about commodities and precious metals. Thanks!