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:

This past week, I had to make trip to Spokane, Washington, to have our snowplow repaired. It had been repeatedly reverting to “float” mode, unexpectedly. The main fault turned out to be a glitchy controller handset. But while I was there, I had them change the hydraulic fluid, since that hadn’t been done in a couple of years.  I also had the main power cable changed, since the connectors showed some corrosion. “An ounce of prevention…” is wise — especially when it is a 3.5-hour drive to the snowplow dealership.

On my way home, I dropped by a large farm and ranch store, to pick up some chicken layer pellets and a couple of “All Species” 80-pound Lixit tubs. (We do a little supplementary feeding in the winter, for both our cattle and horses. These tubs are low-moisture feed supplements that are molasses-based)  I found that the store was sold out of the brand of layer pellets that I normally buy. So I bought the other brand. I noticed that they had less than one pallet of that feed remaining. The prices of both brands of chicken grain had jumped by about 18%. Oh, and the store is now selling 60-pound tubs of Lixit for about the same price that they used to sell an 80-pound tub. With a “you’re lucky to be getting these” admonition, I bought the last two 60-pounders that they had in stock, for $72.85 each. Ouch. Welcome to the “new normal” of “beggars can’t be choosers” shopping. We are witnessing both Bidenflation and Wu Flu supply chain disruptions, in action.

Just after stepping out of that store, I bumped into an old friend, who was there looking for circuit breakers.  She reported that all of the hardware stores and even the big box store were sold out of the type that she needed. And she had just learned that the farm and ranch store was sold out of them, too. There’s that “new normal” again, for you.

Now, back at the ranch, I’m still catching up on packing and mailing all of the orders that came in, during our month-long Patton’s Birthday Sale. (For my customers in most states, pre-1899s can be sent via US Mail. And regardless, with no Federal paperwork.) With the sale now over, I have reverted the pricing on most of the guns and knives, but I left some very low sale prices in effect on a dozen percussion revolvers. Take a look, at Elk Creek Company.

Now, over to Lily…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughers of Laban thy mother’s brother.

And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughers of Canaan;

And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;

And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;

Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:

And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” – Genesis 28 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 17, 2021

December 17th, 1905, was the birthday of Simo Häyhä, who was the world’s most successful sniper. Using an iron-sighted Mosin–Nagant in Finland’s Winter War, he had an astounding 505 confirmed sniper kills. He died April 1, 2002.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 98 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. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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 98 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.

The Here and Now, by Mark M.

Like many of you, I’ve read many articles on what to do when the SHTF or TEOTWAWKI. With the fear being put out by the media and politicians regarding Covid, many people who had never heard of prepping, survivalists, or even the acronym SHTF, are now getting quickly up to date.

For all the articles out there, once you sort the wheat from the chaff, there are usually some great pieces of advice regarding what to do when the SHTF, what to include in prepping, building a bugout plan, etc. But, what about the here and now? The time before everything goes south. What can you do? As it turns out, there is a lot of things that you can do, but will you choose to do them? Remember that at the end of the day, your life is in your hands.

Where Am I?

Let me be perfectly clear. Where you live is as important as breathing. Don’t think so? Let’s review history. During the end of World War 2, when the United States, Canada, Britain, and the Soviet Union invaded Germany, the country was divided between them. Yes, it’s a very generalization of a complex subject, but the end result was West Germany, East Germany, and a wall between them. While those in West Germany found economic freedom, those in East Germany found suppression and communism. While no one in Germany at the time could have predicted those outcomes, it is an excellent historical example of the importance of choosing where one lives.

Looking at the years 2019, 2020, and 2021, we find current times not only showing but upholding this idea. Democrat-controlled cities were allowed to riot, burn, loot, and pillage. Police departments in Democrat cities were defunded and crime spiked. Rioters were allowed to take over portions of cities and businesses were either shut down or severely interrupted. If you were that business owner, then that was your livelihood. If you lived there, you found yourself wondering if you would survive. In 2020, a retired St. Louis police captain was shot and killed by looters.

The response to Covid has also been an extreme example of why where one lives is as important as oxygen. If you had loved ones in nursing homes in the New York City area, they were given far different treatment than those in Florida. Even now, the treatments remain different.

You have to treat where you live as important as Oxygen. It matters greatly. No Oxygen, no life. The here and now is the time to start taking stock of where you are living and determining if it’s somewhere that will remain free.

How do you start making that decision? Start taking things in stages and break them down. Are you in a city controlled by Democrats? This is not a political article. It’s reality. Every major city controlled by Democrats is not a place of freedom. Is it a city controlled by a Globalist Republican? If so, then they’re going to be just as bad. Failed policies from both sides of the political spectrum can be found in many places. If you’re in one of these cities, are you truly going to remain free? How many died in the NYC area from failed Covid policies? How many in East Germany died from or were opressed by communism? Start making the changes to allow a move to a place that is free.Continue reading“The Here and Now, by Mark M.”

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 surging inflation figures. (See the Inflation Watch section.)

Precious Metals:

Silver jumped 4.4% yesterday, to $22.59 per Troy ounce. Gold was up 1.86% to $1807.60 per Troy ounce. This makes the silver-to-gold price ratio now back to near 80-to-1.  So this is a good time to ratio trade out of gold into silver. I expect silver to continue to gain versus gold, with a ratio closer to 50-to-1 by the end of 2022. Oh, and consider hedging into platinum a bit, too. At just $934 per ounce, platinum is a screaming buy, given the long-term gold-to-platinum price ratio.  I do not expect inflation to abate in the U.S. anytime soon, and that will be positive for all of the precious metals.  Without Federal spending restraint, America cannot “Whip Inflation Now” — as Gerald Ford urged us, back in the 1970s. Do you remember those absurd “WIN” buttons? But we can protect ourselves from some of its effects. Hedge, hedge, hedge!  – JWR

o  o  o

For those who follow chartists, there is this from Gary Tanashian: Gold, Silver, Gold/Silver Ratio And HUI Index.

Economy & Finance:

Stocks fall, Nasdaq drops nearly 2.5% as tech sector stumbles.

o  o  o

Biden Mocked For Bragging U.S. Pays Bills On Time By Increasing Debt: ‘An Oxymoron Without The Oxy’

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: Evergrande’s Surprisingly Quiet Collapse.

o  o  o

Mega cap leaders sell stock at historic levels amid high valuations, tax changes – WSJ.  JWR’s Comments:  Watch the Smart Money. It looks like they are selling at the top. So… Sell any stocks or mutual funds that you own that are not recession-proof or depression-proof!!

o  o  o

Hedge funds hammered after Omicron variant spooks markets.

o  o  o

“We Expect A Sea Change”: Morgan Stanley Admits It Was Wrong, Now Sees Liftoff In 2022 As Goldman Goes All-In With 7 Rate Hikes.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“For winter was coming. The days were shorter, and frost crawled up the window panes at night. Soon the snow would come. Then the log house would be almost buried in snowdrifts, and the lake and the stream would freeze.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 16, 2021

December 16th, 1928, was the birthday of Philip K. Dick, who died March 2, 1982. He penned a remarkable number of sci-fi novels and novellas that have been adapted into movies, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, Screamers, Impostor, Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, Next, and The Adjustment Bureau. Though he had a troubled personal life (with drug use and several failed marriages), his captivating books certainly had a knack for envisioning potential futures.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 98 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. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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 98 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.

Hands-On Self-Sufficient Living in Florida, by Bonnie R.

Introduction

I have lived in Southwest Florida for my entire life. My dad is a Florida-raised, University of Florida graduate. My mother spent half her childhood in Indiana and the other half in Naples, Florida.

Before my siblings and I were born, my parents started a semi-successful beekeeping business that has been going strong for thirty years. Now, I say “semi-successful” because when you’re running a beekeeping business you rely mostly on nature; and nature is something that is depleting with every passing year. However, they built this business well enough that they were able to homeschool and raise seven children off the profits. Their three oldest sons have even come to profit from their own beekeeping businesses.

I will go a little further into the beekeeping aspect of our life later into the article, but for now let’s start with farming. The four younger children (including myself) stick with cows, poultry, and gardening. We primarily raise is cattle. This includes beef cows, dairy cows, and beef/dairy crosses. We have had many of our animals fall ill, but none like the cows.

Sometimes after recently giving birth, the dairy cows got milk fever. Milk fever is caused by a blood calcium deficiency in which the cow will be unable to stand up. She may also have diarrhea, become dehydrated, and can even die. This is something that happened to us once). For this, we gave electrolytes and calcium supplements. We even found that Tums heartburn tablets would work, in an emergency situation.

To get the cows off the ground, we’d push a heavy linen sheet or a tarp underneath them and then get as many people as possible to lift them up. More often than not, the sheet or tarp would rip.

Scours was when one calf would get severe diarrhea; and then the rest of the herd would get it. In fact, just earlier this year a young calf got it. We ended up giving it electrolytes and barley water. This is fairly easy to make and works wonders. Of course, the only way to get it into the calf was feeding it with a large, needleless syringe.Continue reading“Hands-On Self-Sufficient Living in Florida, by Bonnie R.”

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, more conjecture on a nascent 21st Century U.S. civil war.

Tim Pool Talks Civil War

Some food for thought from pundit Tim Pool: NYT Article Warns Civil War Is Close As Media Claims Proof  Trump Planned Military Coup On Jan 6th. JWR’s Comments: Tim Pool’s observations on spikes in food costs as triggers for civil war are spot-on.

Kentucky Tornado Aftermath: 74 Dead, 100+ Missing

In the New York Post: Kentucky tornado aftermath: At least 74 dead, over 100 still missing.  A quote:

“National Guard troops and FEMA crews are helping to search through the rubble for possible survivors — and more expected casualties, Beshear acknowledged at an afternoon briefing.

‘We expect that this death count will continue to grow,’ the grim-faced governor said.”

Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss on The Matrix Awakens

This technology has some huge implications in creating Deep Fakes of just about anyone: Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss on making The Matrix Awakens with Epic Games. JWR’s Comments: First, a warning:  This interview takes a kinky turn in the last segment. Skip watching that part.

In a way, what they discussed about deep fakes is confirmation of my 2009 decision to stop doing any on-camera interviews. In essence, the fakers can’t manipulate images that don’t exist. Take heed: This technology will proliferate in the next few years. In the wrong hands, it can do a lot of damage.

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 15, 2021

December 15th is Bill of Rights Day. The Bill of Rights became law on this day in 1791, following ratification by the state of Virginia. We encourage our American readers to gather publicly and read the Bill of Rights aloud.

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The 15th of December, 1923, was the birthday of Uziel “Uzi” Gal (born Gotthard Glas). According to Wikipedia, he was “…born in Weimar, Germany. When the Nazis came to power in 1933 he moved first to England and later, in 1936, to Kibbutz Yagur in the British Mandate of Palestine where he changed his name to Uziel Gal. In 1943, he was arrested for illegally carrying a gun and sentenced to six years in prison. However, he was pardoned and released in 1946, serving less than half of his sentence.” He is, of course, remembered as the inventor of the famous Uzi submachine gun. Uzi Gal is not to be confused with Israel Galili, the chief weapons designer for Israeli Military Industries (IMI), who along with Yaacov Lior designed the Galil improvement to the AK-47.

—

For those who have asked… Yes, we will be making another batch of SurvivalBlog Archive waterproof/EMP-proof USB sticks again this year.  They should be orderable on or about January 15th, 2022, and deliveries will start around February 10th. This year, because the archive has become so large, we’ll have the first 10 years on one stick, and the six most recent years (through Dec 31, 2021) on a second stick. And as usual,  the bonus book selection will be growing again. Stay tuned, for details.

Note that the archive sticks will probably sell out by mid-February, so be sure to mark a reminder in your calendar, to get your order in.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 98 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. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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 98 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.

Can You Survive Without Meat When The SHTF?, by Ken Gallender

I’d like to start this article with saying that I am not a tree hugger. I love meat, eggs, cheese and fish. I’m not trying to convince anyone to quit hunting and fishing. I have been an outdoorsman my entire life. I drive and use 4×4 trucks and ATVs every week. I just want to impart what has profoundly changed my life.

I have given a lot of thought to how we would survive and provide the protein requirements for my family if suddenly we were faced with the prospect of having no supermarket or source of meat and dairy products. I keep fish traps, gill nets, minnow seines, etc. as a silent means of catching fish and crayfish (“freshwater lobster”). I also keep traps for small game.

I recently learned, quite accidentally, that you can not only survive, but actually thrive in the absence of meat, dairy, and fish. I learned that with the exception of vitamin B-12 you can eat just one food and sustain yourself for a lifetime. That food is the sweet potato. You only get B-12 from the bacteria in your food, it is not found in the meat and dairy products, only the bacteria consumed by the animals and winds up in the meat and dairy. Cheese is full of bacteria. To get the vitamin D your body needs is easy. Go stand in the sun with your face and arms exposed 10 or 15 minutes a week. You can get all you need taking a short stroll every day.

As I entered middle age, I became obese and no matter what I tried, I was unable to drop the weight in any meaningful amount. I developed high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes. My ankles would swell to the size of softballs after a day at my desk. My knees hurt and my activity was severely limited. I was 80 lbs. overweight. I started researching my diabetes and I discovered a video of Dr. John McDougall and watched his video on YouTube titled Stop Eating Poison. I watched in disbelief at what he said and it was directly opposite of what my doctors advised, and everything I have heard and read for the past 30 years.

I have spent years not eating anything that had a carbohydrate in it. I ate huge amounts of chicken, eggs, cheese, green vegetables, etc. I never lost weight. I started intermittent fasting where I consumed nothing other than unsweetened coffee and tea, three days in a row each week. I once went on a 7-day fast and guess what, I was still 80 lbs. overweight. Sure, I would lose 4 or 5 pounds here and there, but nothing substantial.Continue reading“Can You Survive Without Meat When The SHTF?, by Ken Gallender”

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. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Dozens of tornados touched down in five states including Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky. These did tremendous damage and may have claimed more than 100 lives–mostly in Kentucky. Please keep the survivors in your prayers.  Here are some trustworthy places to make donations:

Samaritan’s Purse

and,

Kentucky Southern Baptist Convention.

o  o  o

A word of warning: Brian Williams Quits TV: America In 2021 Is “Unrecognizable”. JWR’s Comment: It remains to be seen if he goes Full Sharyl Atkinsson. But bless him for at least having the guts to say what he did.

o  o  o

Bear wrote us:

“Reportedly, in response to the Julian Assange extradition ruling, Wikileaks has released a mass of documents. Here is a link to the index: https://www.bitterrootbugle.com/2021/12/14/wikileaks-data-dump/
I think things are going to keep getting, shall we say, ‘interesting’…”

o  o  o

Mark McC. wrote in response to a recent article:

“A smallpox epidemic would be horrifying if it had a 25% mortality, but many of us age 50 and older may be protected.

Have a concave or flat circular scar on your upper arm? That was left by a smallpox shot you got as a kid.
While the CDC says smallpox vax last only 3-5 years, some scientists say it has some lifetime protection.
A description of how the smallpox vaccine was invented: “Edward Jenner innoculated his gardner’s son with pus from a cowpox lesion on a milkmaid’s hand. Then sometime later he exposed the same child on both arms with the pus from someone who had smallpox.  The child never developed smallpox thereby proving immunity to smallpox by inoculating with cowpox.”
This should be easy to replicate in the event of a smallpox epidemic.
Finally, although not mentioned anywhere, the antiviral and antihelmic drug Ivermectin (yes, pony paste) could be useful for smallpox, as well as Covid. It can’t hurt to keep a couple of tubes [of plain Ivermectin paste] in stock.”

o  o  o

Reader FJ sent this news from rural New York:  Hikers in Sneakers Stranded in 8 Inches of Snow Atop Mount Marcy Rescued. Here are FJ’s comments:

“The “un”-preppers get lucky.  “Don’t know how to read a map” and they go hiking. “surprised by the temperature change of elevation”.

D**n fools were just lucky.
My question: who paid for the search and rescue operation?”

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“…The Bill of Rights is a literal and absolute document. The First Amendment doesn’t say you have a right to speak out unless the government has a ‘compelling interest’ in censoring the Internet. The Second Amendment doesn’t say you have the right to keep and bear arms until some madman plants a bomb. The Fourth Amendment doesn’t say you have the right to be secure from search and seizure unless some FBI agent thinks you fit the profile of a terrorist. The government has no right to interfere with any of these freedoms under any circumstances.” – Harry Browne

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 14, 2021

Today is the birthday of Air Force General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, who died September 27, 1993.

December 14th is also the birthday of the late John Warren Wadleigh (born 1927, died September 24, 2013). Wadleigh was better known to many SurvivalBlog readers by his pen name – Oliver Lange. He was the author of the best-selling resistance warfare novel Vandenberg.

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The last day!  By popular demand, I extended the month-long Patton’s Birthday Sale at Elk Creek Company. It will now end tonight. Get your order in by 1700 hrs, Pacific Time on Tuesday, December 14th.  With our unique ordering system, you can choose between paying in Federal Reserve Notes (i.e. check or postal money order), or with pre-1965 U.S. silver coinage.  I should mention that about half of our customers now pay in silver.

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Today’s feature article (“The Handyman’s Tool Pouch”) was too short to be included in the judging for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 98 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.