Propaganda and My Prepping – Part 2, by St. Funogas

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(Continued from Part 2.)

Propaganda can also be very damaging to us as individuals, and especially to us as a nation. Advertising = propaganda is ultimately about controlling us. Controlling us so we’ll quit littering, or controlling us so we’ll hand over our money and buy their products instead of the competition’s, or controlling us so we won’t object when they take away more of our freedoms either in the form of raising our taxes again or by passing more laws pushing us towards a more Orwellian future that awaits us.

The term Military Industrial Complex (MIC) was popularized by President Eisenhower in his now-famous Farewell Address in 1961. When a five-star army general is warning us to watch out for the MIC, I have to stand up and take notice. When a politician who knows the deepest, darkest secrets of his country, who is retiring from politics and no longer has to worry about campaign contributions from lobbyists and Big Corporations, is telling me to be wary of the MIC, he has my fullest attention. Today, this is more appropriately referred to as the MICC, the Military Industrial Congressional Complex.

The people who make up the MICC include the executive branch, Congress and all the various money people associated with them (mainly lobbyists and large political donors), defense contractors, and private military contractors, among others. People who are not part of the MICC include the 1.4 million currently active military personnel, nor the millions of retired military folks.

Phrases in our culture like “Just the facts, ma’am,” “rock on,” and “he bought the farm,” originated innocently enough in one region with one person (or author) and eventually spread throughout the entire country. Other phrases such as, “If you see something, say something,” start out as advertising campaigns and eventually become part of our culture and national thinking. Before long, nobody can even remember when or why they began, yet they remain part of our national culture, and often we are the worse for it. “If you see something, say something.” Cui bono? IMO, Big Brother. These types of slogans leave me very uncomfortable and are way too Orwellian for my taste.Continue reading“Propaganda and My Prepping – Part 2, by St. Funogas”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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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. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This past week was very busy for us. The kids helped me pad and pack 10 antique gun orders that were placed with Elk Creek Company. It seems that people are waking up to the significance of no-paperwork pre-1899 cartridge guns. Meanwhile, I was also busy writing and editing, as usual.

We shifted around a bunch of bulk long term storage foods and found that were short a few food grade buckets and Gamma Seal lids.  So I placed those on order.

Outdoors at the ranch, I had to make a few fence repairs. You see, we have a bored two year old bull who likes throwing his weight around. I’m fond of saying that there are a lot of words that you can’t say without including the suffix spoken “bull”. These include: Incorrigible, terrible, intractable, irredeemable, excitable, uncontrollable, unmanageable, incomprehensible, and just plain old trouble. Such is life with a bull. He is actually very friendly, for a bull. But he certainly can do a lot of damage, very quickly, without realizing the trouble he is causing us.  And of course we never turn our backs on him.  “A bull is a bull, is a bull.”

I also got some more firewood and slash cut up, hauled, and stacked. This, with some help from our daughters. I must mention: We didn’t raise them to be Blushing Violets. They are lovely young ladies with all the graces. But they can be sturdy and hard working, when needed.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.

Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:

That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.” – Isaiah 65 : 8-28 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 8, 2020

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Today, May 8th, is the birthday of Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek. (Pictured.)

This is also the birthday of missionary and U.S. military intelligence officer John Birch. (Born, 1918, died August 25, 1945.) He is considered by many to be the first American casualty of the Cold War.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. 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).
  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. 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.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $100 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 88 ends on May 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.

 

Propaganda and My Prepping – Part 1, by St. Funogas

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(Part 1, of three parts.)

Author’s Introductory Note: I normally enjoy interacting with commenters after JWR posts one of my articles but I will state in advance that I will not be debating any of the topics discussed herein. My apologies for that. My sincere desire is that you will read this, avoid knee-jerk reactions, and ponder what I’ve said before you respond. I’m sure some of it has never crossed your mind before. So I hope that instead of forming an immediate opinion, you’d instead ruminate on this for a while and let it simmer over a cinnamon roll and some coffee. Instead of defending the same things you’ve been defending your entire life, stand back and take a fresh look at it from a different angle. That’s all I ask. I’ve probably been where you’re at right now. But some of you probably haven’t been where I am. So come on over and check out the view, you might enjoy it…

—

I hope to show by the end of this article that propaganda should be a neutral term in English, not the negative term that it is in the United States. I also hope to teach you a little Spanish, a little Latin, and share a few personal experiences along the way. Mostly, I hope we can all become better consumers as we travel the information highway we call the Internet. And finally, I hope we can learn to see through the propaganda to be better preppers, for what lies ahead.

Continue reading“Propaganda and My Prepping – Part 1, by St. Funogas”

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 big surge in gun-buying in the United States. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Arkadiusz Sieroń: Will Gold Decline As Economies Gradually Reopen?

o  o  o

Update #2: $3K To $20K Gold Coming? These Pundits (Now 34) Think So!

Economy & Finance:

At the TaxProf Blog: Colleges Face 15%-20% Drop In Enrollment; S&P Lowers Credit Rating Of 25% Of Colleges

o  o  o

Commercial Real Estate Already Gets Hit in Europe: Prices for Retail Properties Plunge, Office Prices Sink

o  o  o

At The Daily Bell:  What happens when you cancel rent, mortgages, and debt? (Thanks to both H.L. and Mike, who sent the link.)

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“I saw that publishing all over the world was deeply constrained by self-censorship, economics and political censorship, while the military-industrial complex was growing at a tremendous rate, and the amount of information that it was collecting about all of us vastly exceeded the public imagination.” – Julian Assange

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 7, 2020

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On May 7, 1992, a 203-year-old proposed constitutional amendment barring the U.S. Congress from giving itself a midterm pay raise was ratified—the 27th Amendment.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. 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).
  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. 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.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $100 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 88 ends on May 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.

Bug-In/Bug-Out Transportation, by WVA

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In this articles, I will discuss some considerations for selecting and preparing your Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) vehicle.

Nearly all post-disaster/prepper/survivalist/etc. novels follow one of two plot lines. The first, our heroes are caught away from home and forced to travel on foot when their vehicle ceases to operate due lack of fuel, mechanical failure, being stolen, etc. The second, our heroes are at/near home and are bugging-in, using the vehicle for short trips until bugging-out when the situation deteriorates. Either of these plot lines show how vital reliable and capable motorized transportation will be when the worse happens.

Over several years now, my Bug-Out Vehicle has changed several times and I have made numerous modifications with the goal of maximizing what I thought to be the required capabilities. During this process, my thought process, goals, equipment have all changed many, many times as my thinking matured, routes and destinations evolved, and new equipment and vehicles have entered the market. I hope that my latest line of reasoning and evaluation will provide you with a springboard to start your own Bug-Out Vehicle Project.

The first place to start your considerations is to clearly define your needs, operating environments, and capacities. Someone that is bugging-in in a major city with a bug-out route over the Rockies will need a much different vehicle than some in a minor suburban area going thirty miles across the Plains. Try to use actual numbers, not just “Well, this should be plenty” or “Hmm, better take few off.” Doing so will help define the type of vehicle that is required.Continue reading“Bug-In/Bug-Out Transportation, by WVA”

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 hunting, in the midst of meat shortages.

The Murder Hornets Have Arrived

Several readers sent this: Tracking the ‘Murder Hornet’: A Deadly Pest Has Reached North America

Trump to Name Names in Wuhan

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: White House Will Release ‘Conclusive’ Evidence Coronavirus Originated In Wuhan Lab, Trump Says.

Where to Find Amish Markets

Reader Cheryl X. wrote to ask about how to find Amish markets.  These are surplus grocery stores that specialize in foods in closed-out promotional packaging, ding and dent cans and packaged, and slightly past expiry date packaged foods and candies. Depending on state and locals laws, they also sell things like freshly-made rolled butter, raw cow milk, raw goat milk, frozen Hutterite chickens, and much more. Some High Tech Amish folks put together this handy online store-finder directory.

Facing Meat Shortages, Americans Go Hunting

Reader G.G. sent us a link to this article circulated by Reuters: Facing meat shortages, some Americans turn to hunting during pandemic
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.” – Samuel Adams

Thoughts on Force in the Real World, by K.M.

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The following is my essay that explains the 2nd Amendment, with the issues distilled down to essential truths.

The right to keep and bear arms is a God-given right to self defense against any source who would force their unlawful will on you. Whether that is to violate your person, relieve you of your property, or physically attack you, or as an extension, to protect others in the same dire situation. For such a right to be capable of performing in the real world it would have to be able to meet a threatening force with an equal or greater force. Enough force capable of diffusing or ending the present threat.

I will illustrate how you in essence have two parties: One we will call “Perp” (Perpetrator) and the other we will call “Innocent”. These labels could be substituted with other words: Nazis versus Jews, or Lords versus Peasants, or Bureaucrats versus Patriots. But you get the point.

So, the scenario is that Perp approaches Innocent and demands something that Innocent is not obligated or required to provide. Perp is trying to force their will on Innocent without cause or justification. The demand is usually motivated by greed, lust, hate, a quest for power, or just plain old meanness. But it matters not, the demand is there. What will innocent do?

Basically, Perp wants to control Innocent to perform or provide for them. Perp wants something for nothing and will use force to get it, if needed. The verbal demand from Perp is met with an equal and opposite verbal response, which often is simply “No”. Perp insists, Innocent again says “No”, Perp escalates the situation from a demand into a threat of physical force. Innocent responds with another “No!”, which is often immediately followed by physical, perhaps deadly force.Continue reading“Thoughts on Force in the Real World, by K.M.”

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, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage 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 chicken coop building. (See the Books section and the Instructional Videos section.)

Books:

How to Build Animal Housing: 60 Plans for Coops, Hutches, Barns, Sheds, Pens, Nestboxes, Feeders, Stanchions, and Much More

o  o  o

No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid

o  o  o

This book won’t be released until June, but Amazon is already taking pre-orders: Fast. Feast. Repeat.: The Comprehensive Guide to Delay, Don’t Deny Intermittent Fasting–Including the 28-Day FAST Start

o  o  o

Conviction Machine: Standing Up to Federal Prosecutorial Abuse

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