The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny…To inherit a government, is to inherit the
people, as if they were flocks and herds.” – Thomas Paine, ‘The Rights of Man’, Part 2 (1792)

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — June 15, 2025

June 15, 1219: According to legend, Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark (and the oldest national flag in the world) fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse (now Tallinn) in Estonia and turned the Danes’ luck.

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On June 15, 1762, Austria used the first paper currency.  The world has seen currency inflation, ever since.

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Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John put his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter” on June 15, 1215. This document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation’s laws. Although it was more a reactionary than a progressive document, the Magna Carta was seen as a cornerstone in the development of democratic England by later generations.

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Just one day left! We are running a two-week-long sale on all of the pre-1899 Mauser rifles in our inventory at Elk Creek Company.  There is no paperwork required to order these, in most States.  They are mailed right to your door or your P.O. Box address. The sale ends at Midnight, Eastern Time on Monday, June 16th. Take a look!  And, by the way, we are now offering an unprecedented 26.5 times face value for pre-1965 US silver coins, if you’d prefer to pay that way.  (Take the total for your order and divide by 26.5.)

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Today’s feature article was too short to qualify for the judging in the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. We are in need of entries for Round 119 of the contest, which ends on July 31st. So get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Urban Evacuation Planning: A Medic’s View, by Christian Bahr-Lopez

Urban evacuation is often treated as a logistics problem or a public safety exercise. But for those of us who’ve worked on the street, through blackouts, fires, multi-casualty incidents, and gridlock, the truth is more grim. Collapse in a city doesn’t start when the power goes out. It starts when the system stops answering.

I’ve worked as a New York City EMT/paramedic across the boroughs of Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Long Island. What follows isn’t theory. It’s what I’ve learned about survival, triage, and movement when the infrastructure fails and panic takes over.

The First Fail Point: Roads and Intersections

Most civilians plan to evacuate by car. That’s a fatal assumption.

Once the flow of traffic is disrupted by downed lights, stalled vehicles, or sheer panic, the street grid collapses. Intersections become choke points. Emergency vehicles are paralyzed. Pedestrians spill into traffic. You can die sitting behind your steering wheel a mile from safety.Continue reading“Urban Evacuation Planning: A Medic’s View, by Christian Bahr-Lopez”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

 

Meme Text:

Why Does Pride Get Its Own Month…

..When The Six Other Deadly Sins Don’t Even Get a Day of Recognition?

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

 

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” – Romans 13:8-14 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — June 14, 2025

June 14, 1645: The Battle of Naseby, Leicestershire: Parliament’s New Model Army under Oliver Cromwell and Thomas Fairfax defeated the Royalist forces of English King Charles I.

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During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution on June 14th, 1777, stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” The national flag, which became known as the “Stars and Stripes,” was based on the “Grand Union” flag– a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes.

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Today’s short feature article was too short to qualify as an entry for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. We are seeking entries for Round 119 of the contest. More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 119 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

An Amish Quantity Shopping Observation, by Richard T.

Recently, as I was waiting for our carts while parked outside of the pickup zone at the warehouse-style grocery store that we shop at our dashcam caught these Amish loading up their purchases. This was a very fascinating 10 minute episode that began before we arrived there. There was a large pickup truck with a hired “English” driver, a large rented cargo trailer and two Amish ladies and one Amish man who worked in a very energetic and organized fashion to load pallets of non-perishable goods into racks and shelving into the trailer.

Since I only saw one Amish couple in the store casually shopping, I assume they were doing that while the head group had called ahead and placed an order that they could pick up without having to go through the store. Amish shoppers at this store loading up vans and pickup trucks is not an uncommon sight at this store, but this was by far the most ambitious and massive loading operation that I’ve ever seen.  They were buying in quantity.

Observing this made me wonder if this was a routine procedure for them, or if they were gearing up for something that they saw coming?

Note: The photo above is Adobe Photoshop-edited by me from actual dashcam video, for the privacy of the shoppers.

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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

Jim Reports:

Sheep shearing day!  This week, we had a sheep shearer out to the ranch, and he sheared and hoof-trimmed all of our adult sheep. (We have two small flocks with less than 20 adults, and a roughly equal number of lambs.) He was a real pro, did a great job, with the least number of nicks that I’ve ever seen. (Pictured above is sheep shearing season at my great-grandfather John Wallach’s ranch in Bell Valley, Mendocino County, California, in the 1890s. John Wallach can be seen near the far left, with the moustache.)

I did some more firewood cutting this week. I’m now almost done with my annual wood quota, just in time for haying season.  Thankfully, all of the wood cutting and splitting exercise gets my muscles in shape for the upcoming hay bale bucking/stacking.

We began to drain and scrub our Redneck Pool. It will feel great to see it looking clean and spiffy. That annual pool cleaning project should be done by Tuesday. We’ll then be ready for hot weather and grandkids’ visits!

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

Preparedness Notes for Friday — June 13, 2025

On June 13, 1665: The Battle of Lowestoft was fought off the coast of Suffolk, England. The English fleet defeated the Dutch fleet.

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June 13, 1777, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette landed in the fledgling United States.

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June 13, 1889: Two feet of snow accumulated in Rawlins, Wyoming.

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Just a few days left! We are running a two-week-long sale on all of the pre-1899 Mauser rifles in our inventory at Elk Creek Company.  There is no paperwork required to order these, in most States.  They are mailed right to your door or your P.O. Box address. The sale ends on Monday, June 16th. Take a look!

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 119 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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),
  2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. A $269 retail value survival-ready power package from Solar Power Lifestyle. This includes two Solar Power Lifestyle 25W Portable Solar Panels, plus a $150 gift card to use for any purchase at solarpowerlifestyle.com.
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 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 gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 119 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

A Mobile Device Mounting System, by J.M.

In several previous articles on SurvivalBlog.com (Elements of a Security System, Field Intelligence Collection, etc.) several readers and I have discussed the use of various mobile electronic devices to support field operations in a post-disaster world. These can be anything from wireless cameras for security or surveillance to a simple flashlight to see what you’re doing. One common factor among all electronic mobile devices is that they need to be optimally positioned to provide the maximum benefit. Continue reading“A Mobile Device Mounting System, by J.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. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at silver’s breakout. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

Silver surges past $35/oz level to hit a more than 13-year high. JWR Adds:  When I checked on Tuesday evening, spot silver was at $36.87 per Troy ounce! There was a dip on Wednesday, but by Thursday evening (Friday morning, in Asia), silver was back up to $36.79. Hang on tight to your silver, folks. The Silver Bull is just getting started. The Shorts must be screaming now, in panic!  I expect to see the silver-to-gold ratio to drop below 82-to-1, in or before July. Take note that the ratio is now down to around 94-to-1.  But it was above 100-to-1, just a couple of weeks ago. I expect silver to out-perform gold for the rest of 2025, and possibly longer.

o  o  o

A very interesting interview: Silver Continues To Run — Andy Schectman.

o  o  o

Poland Has More Gold Than the European Central Bank.

Economy & Finance:

Reuters: US-China trade, export control talks push through second full day in London. JWR’s Comments: If a deal is reached and tariffs are dropped, then I expect to see a U.S. stock market rally, across the board. Many commodities and the Baltic Dry Index should also rebound.

o  o  o

India And US Advance Toward Interim Trade Deal After Four-Day Talks.

o  o  o

Another at Zero Hedge: Trump Travel Ban, Restrictions Go Into Effect On 19 Nations.
Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The more contracted that power is, the more easily it is destroyed. A country governed by a despot is an inverted cone.” – Samuel Johnson, as quoted in James Boswell’s ‘The Life of Samuel Johnson’ (1791) vol. 3, p. 283 (April 14, 1778)

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 12, 2025

I just heard the news: Brian Wilson, Beach Boys Co-Founder, Dies at 82. His musical genius was obvious to anyone who has heard even just one of his compositions or complex arrangements. Here is just one example. Although I must say that some of the song lyrics that Wilson wrote were not edifying and sometimes promoted loose morals (for example: “I Get Around”), his musicianship was spectacular. Goodbye, Brian. Or should I say: Hushabye. – JWR

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June 12, 1792: British explorer Captain George Vancouver landed on the site of what is now Vancouver, British Columbia.

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On June 12, 1987, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 119 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 $2,000.
  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 Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. A $269 retail value survival-ready power package from Solar Power Lifestyle. This includes two Solar Power Lifestyle 25W Portable Solar Panels, plus a $150 gift card to use for any purchase at solarpowerlifestyle.com.
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 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 gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 119 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Beyond Band Aids, by K.G.

Author’s Introductory Note: I am not a licensed medical professional, I am simply recounting an event that happened to me, research I have done on the subject and how it made me think differently about my own preparations. I hope you find this article interesting and informative, but please also do your own research.

Recently, I experienced my own personal Schumeresque event. I was competing in a sport I have done all my life when I felt something snap in the back of my heel. It happened as I took a hard step and I immediately knew something was wrong. I sat down and felt the back of my heel and knew I had ruptured my Achilles tendon. The event had an athletic trainer who came over to take a look but she quickly agreed with my assessment. She gave me some ice and helped me out of the building to the street while my wife went to pull up the car for the drive to urgent care where the Doctor confirmed my diagnosis.

The urgent care physician sent me home in a walking boot with instructions to call for an appointment with a surgeon the next day (this happened on the weekend). I was able to see the surgeon on Tuesday and he explained that while there are some non-surgical options, since I am very active and in good health, surgery would be the best option with the best chance of full recovery. They scheduled me for surgery on Friday. Until then, I needed to remain in the walking boot (including while sleeping) to protect my leg from further injury.Continue reading“Beyond Band Aids, by K.G.”