Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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 the economic implications of Joe Biden’s policies. (See the Economy & Finance section, the Commodities section, and the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold off 2-week high as investors book profits.

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Even if you’re not a geologist, you can tell if a gold stock is legitimate

Economy & Finance:

Brandon Smith at Alt-Market.us: Blue State Economies Will Soon Crumble – But Will They Take Red States With Them?

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At Seeking Alpha: COVID response: Biden to use Defense Production Act, executive actions

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Over at the left-leaning Quartz news outlet: Biden has a $1.9 trillion economic recovery plan—and a path to achieve it.  JWR’s Comments: In at least one way, Biden is a lot like Trump. He is willing to vastly expand the debt burden of future generations, in exchange for short-term benefit. Beware. This may just be the beginning of a lot more over-spending.  You’ve surely heard the old expression: “Our forefathers are rolling in their graves.” Well, Biden should have our unborn children rolling in their wombs.

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At Wolf Street: Eviction Bans, Surging Apartment Vacancy Rates Trip up CMBS Backed by 43 Apartment Buildings.Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“If you identify as a conservative and continue to believe that your prime enemies are ordinary leftists, or you identify as a leftist and believe your prime enemies are Republican citizens, you will fall perfectly into the trap set for you. Namely, you will ignore your real enemies, the ones who actually wield power at your expense: ruling class elites, who really do not care about “right v. left” and most definitely do not care about “Republican v. Democrat” — as evidenced by the fact that they fund both parties — but instead care only about one thing: stability, or preservation of the prevailing neoliberal order.

Unlike so many ordinary citizens addicted to trivial partisan warfare, these ruling class elites know who their real enemies are: anyone who steps outside the limits and rules of the game they have crafted and who seeks to disrupt the system that preserves their prerogatives and status. The one who put this best was probably Barack Obama when he was president, when he observed — correctly — that the perceived warfare between establishment Democratic and Republican elites was mostly theater, and on the question of what they actually believe, they’re both ‘fighting inside the 40 yard line’ together.” – Glenn Greenwald

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — January 21, 2021

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On this day in 1968, the siege of Khe Sanh began, as NVA regulars surrounded the USMC hilltop airfield near the Laotian border. Fearing a repeat of the French Army’s 1953 Dien Bien Phu debacle, the Pentagon assigned maximum round-the-clock air power to the region, including B-52 bomber strikes, to break the siege. According to the Infogalatic wiki this was “‘the most concentrated application of aerial firepower in the history of warfare’. On an average day 350 tactical fighter-bombers, 60 B-52s, and 30 light observation or reconnaissance aircraft operated in the skies near Khe Sanh.” More than 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped in the area. American casualties during the siege were 274 killed and 2,541 wounded. ARVN casualties were 229 killed and 436 wounded. The NVA took massive casualties, before withdrawing. MACV’s report estimated 5,550 NVA killed and more 8,000 wounded. (Only 1,602 NVA bodies were counted, but the NVA was famous for recovering the bodies of their KIAs, partially for propaganda reasons, to “deny body count.”) Khe Sanh was finally relieved by American and ARVN ground forces on April 6, 1968.

—

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.

Just 10 days left!

Ontario RAT 1 Knife and AccuSharp Diamond PRO Sharpener, by The Novice

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The story is told of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The bravest and truest of the knights would ride out betimes in quest of the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail was the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. They imagined it to be a golden chalice studded with jewels.

In my version of the story, the Holy Grail was actually something quite different. It was part of an unmatched set of crude earthenware dishes. The disciples had borrowed the dishes from the owner of the upper room in order to set the table for the Last Supper. Following that meal, the simple cup was returned to common service in the household. One day, a careless servant dropped the cup, and it shattered. The cup was so commonplace that the servant was not even reprimanded for the accident. He was just told to sweep up the shards and throw them away.

Eventually, the shards ended up in the local dump in the valley of Hinnom, on the southwest of Jerusalem. There they were buried in the detritus of an ancient city. They still lie there today.

The Holy Grail was impossible for King Arthur’s Knights to find. They would not have recognized it if they found it. And if they had somehow recognized it, they would have been bitterly disappointed. Their problem was that they sought gold, silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. The reality of the cup was much more profound than they could apprehend.

In a way, the Legend of the Holy Grail serves as a parable of the human condition. A deep and desperate longing fills our hearts. We seek feverishly and unrelentingly to satisfy that longing, but all of our efforts are fruitless. We can never satisfy that longing through our own efforts. Instead we must receive satisfaction as a gift through faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. In the words of Augustine of Hippo in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless, until it can find rest in you.” Instead of seeking the Holy Grail, we must seek the Savior Who made the grail holy by His touch; the Savior who cried out, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”; the Savior Who promised that those who seek Him would find Him.

I have found rest in Jesus Christ. I sought Him and found Him, because He first came to seek and to save me (the lost). The great quest of my life has found perfect satisfaction in Him.

As I await Christ’s glorious return, I continue to occupy until He comes. One minor thing that I have been occupied with in recent years is a lesser quest, one that pales into insignificance in comparison with the quest for Christ. The object of this lesser quest is the ideal every-day-carry (EDC) knife for me.

I have referred to some stages in this quest in other articles I have written for Survivalblog. For example, the Outdoor Edge Onyx EDC looked promising (see May 12, 2020). It was sharp enough, but the blade was too flimsy. Then the Coast FX350 merited a further look (see June 27, 2020). It had a sturdy enough blade, but it was not sharp enough.

Then for my birthday this year, my daughter and son-in-law gave me a $25 Amazon gift card. I decided it was time to set out on another stage in my minor quest. I purchased an Ontario RAT 1.

The Ontario RAT 1

The Ontario RAT 1 is a folding knife with a 3.6″ plain edge AUS-8 stainless steel blade and a Nylon-6 handle. It is 5″ closed, 8.62″ open, and weighs 5 ounces. It opens with a thumb stud and is held open by a liner lock.

The RAT 1 is sold by the Ontario Knife Company of Franklinville, New York. It is based on a design by Randall’s Adventure and Training. It is manufactured in Taiwan, which is at least an American ally.Continue reading“Ontario RAT 1 Knife and AccuSharp Diamond PRO Sharpener, by The Novice”

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 changing of the guard in the District of Criminals (DC). There, on Wednesday, we witnessed the expected thunderous applause of the Democrats.

Social Media Bans Threaten Free Speech For All

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: The Cold Civil War: Social Media Bans Threaten Free Speech For All.

ABC News Calls for ‘Cleansing’ of Trump Supporters

ABC News Calls for ‘Cleansing’ of Trump Supporters in Wake of Capitol Incursion.

ATF Encroaching on ‘Solvent Traps’ and DIY Suppressor Components

Reader J.T. sent us this: ATF Encroaching on ‘Solvent Traps’ and DIY Suppressor Components

What if Opting Out of Data Collection Was Easy?

Reader C.B. suggested this piece: What if opting out of data collection were easy?Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 20, 2021

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Today is the birthday of Congressman Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794)

—

On January 20, 1981, 52 American hostages were released by the Iranian government, following 444 days of captivity, to be reunited with their families. Not coincidentally, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President, the same day.

—

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.

Simple Heat Treating for a High Carbon Steel Knife Blade – Part 2, by Steve A.

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

The blacksmith would heat the steel to a bright cherry red, check it with a magnet, bank the forge fire over the steel, and let it cool in the dying fire overnight, ensuring a very slow cooling rate. A modern heat treat shop would heat the steel to temperature in an atmosphere-controlled furnace and then turn the furnace off until the steel has cooled sufficiently.

Another way to do this starts by clamping the file by its tang upright in a metal vise and annealing it with a torch. If you slowly and evenly heat the file to the critical temperature with an oxy-acetylene torch, you can slowly reduce the heat over a period of ten minutes or so by moving the torch away from the file to reduce the heat until the steel does not glow and then let the steel cool in still air. This will not soften the steel as uniformly as the slower methods but will soften it enough to allow it to be more easily worked. The surface oxidization or scale formed during heating should be removed by wire brushing before proceeding. Vise-grips may be used to hold the file during the annealing, heating, and quenching steps. In the old days blacksmiths would make or modify a set of tongs to hold a specific shape being worked.Continue reading“Simple Heat Treating for a High Carbon Steel Knife Blade – Part 2, by Steve A.”

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 cold weather camping gear. (See the Gear section.)

Books:

This upcoming release looks interesting: This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race. (It will be released on February 9th, 2021, but Amazon is taking pre-orders.)

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Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare

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Long Range Shooting Handbook: The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Precision Rifle Shooting

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This book is dated, but still surprisingly useful: The Black Book of Revenge: The Complete Manual of Hardcore Dirty Tricks and Schemes

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Clandestine operations: The Arms and Techniques of the Resistance, 1941-1944

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

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 19, 2021

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Today is the birthday of the late Carla Emery (born 1939, died October 11, 2005). She is well known in self-sufficiency circles as the author of The Encyclopedia of Country Living. (This book was re-released in a 40th Anniversary edition.)

January 19th is also the birthday of General Robert E. Lee.

—

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.

Simple Heat Treating for a High Carbon Steel Knife Blade – Part 1, by Steve A.

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Modern civilization owes its existence in part to the early discovery that iron containing small amounts of carbon could be made much harder than other iron compounds. This substance, iron with between about 0.6 and 1.7 percent carbon and no other alloying elements, was the first predictably hardenable steel and can be referred to as “high carbon plain steel”. Such steels can be made as hard as a file and form the most basic group of tool steels, where tool steel is defined as steel that is able to cut softer steel. The range of these steels include the simple mixtures of iron and carbon we will discuss here as well as steels that exhibit very different behaviors from their older kin due to the addition of alloying elements such as chromium, cobalt, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, zirconium, and others that significantly change the properties of the steel.

Many manufactured products such as files, automotive leaf springs, and wood cutting saw blades are made from various alloys of high carbon steel. If you elect to use such scrap to make knives, chisels, gouges, or other cutting tools, first test harden a piece of the scrap steel to insure that it has enough carbon content to harden file hard when quenched. This testing will prevent an unwelcome surprise when you later unsuccessfully try to harden that particular steel.

Many hardenable steels can be shaped and taken to the desired degree of hardness by using relatively simple processes. Cutting tools, springs, and high strength machinings can all be made from appropriate new or used steels using these processes to anneal, shape, harden, and temper such items. Fully hardened steel can be tempered using different times and temperatures to have the properties needed for fasteners, tools, springs, knives, and myriad other items. We will concentrate on applying this information to the making of a simple but very serviceable knife.

Implicit in this work is a source of high temperature heat such as an oxy-acetylene torch or a coal/charcoal forge. Indeed, blacksmiths were well known for recycling high carbon steel scrap into tools for their own and other’s use. These craftsmen had a practical understanding of the processes used to work high carbon steel. The need for high temperatures immediately mandates cautions such as proper clothing, fire protection, and ventilation before starting. All temperatures will be given in degrees Fahrenheit.

A little theory will help us understand how simple high carbon steel can be changed by the actions of heating and cooling it. Imagine a cube. On each of the eight corners of the cube is an iron atom. In addition, there is an iron atom in the center of the cube for a total of nine. This “unit cell” is the smallest grouping of iron atoms that forms the basis for the crystalline structure of iron. It is referred to as “body-centered cubic” structure, a cube with an iron atom in the center of its body.

Each unit cell shares its corner atoms with the unit cells that surround it. Body-centered cubic is the form iron has at temperatures ranging from below freezing up to approximately 1400 degrees F. It also is the form associated with the magnetic properties of iron. When steel is heated to the” critical temperature” of around 1400°, the heat makes the iron atoms more active. The iron atoms reorganize as the metal expands. The central atoms leave their positions and new locations are established at the center of all faces of each unit cell in the red-hot metal. This reorganization means each unit cell and all the surrounding unit cells now effectively have fourteen iron atoms each, one at each corner of the cube and one in the center of each face. These atoms are, of course, shared with all the adjoining cubic cells. The number of atoms has not changed, but the organization of the crystalline structure has. This form of iron is called “face-centered cubic” and is not magnetic.Continue reading“Simple Heat Treating for a High Carbon Steel Knife Blade – Part 1, by Steve A.”

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, we focus on migration between the 50 states. (See the Idaho section.)

Idaho

COVID causes Bogus Basin to lose $3 million in revenue, “our goal is to stay open and safe”

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The big influx:   A moving company migration map.  And here is some more detailed data, to match. Here is a snippet from the latter article:

“In any case, what is quite clear is that such “progressive” bastions of Democratic power such as New York, Illinois, California and Michigan saw the biggest population outflows in 2020, while the biggest winners were the sunbelt states Texas, Florida and Arizona. Expect this trend to only accelerate.”

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Snowmobiler hospitalized after crash near West Yellowstone

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