Misadventures in Moving, by Tober

28

Editor’s Introductory Note:  I generally avoid posting rants, but this one about a Budget rental truck was genuinely epic and tragi-comic.  If you don’t enjoy rants, then only read the first section. – JWR

I think sharing this story will help me a bit, as this was quite an adventure that was mentally and physically exhausting. This article is long, so I decided to put the tips at the beginning. If you want to read the story of why I thought these tips were important, continue below.

Here are my mental health tips for you if you’re planning on making any type of move cross country with all your stuff:

  1. Check the rental truck over carefully, including the oil, other fluids, and belts. Don’t assume the rental place did it. Pretend the last person that had the truck treated it in the worst possible way, and the rental employees are too lazy to do anything about it.
  2. Get at least the basic insurance. It saved our butts in this case. Your regular insurance might not cover vehicles over a certain weight, so at least call and find out.
  3. Allow extra time. If there are no trucks available the day you need them, change the date, or go with a different rental company. Don’t accept the last truck. And most importantly, always expect things to go wrong.
  4. Pack your belongings as if you expect them to get flipped and turned sideways. You never know what will happen. We were fortunate nothing broke.
  5. Don’t buy used trucks from these rental places. Clearly they don’t service them properly. Our truck only had 56,000 miles on it when we picked it up. 56,750 when it left us stranded on the side of the road. As we stared at the back of the broken truck with the sign “We have used trucks for sale”. I bet you do, this one will be next on that list.
  6. Pack plenty of food, water, warm clothes/blankets, and even a bucket in case you need a toilet. No need to pee on the side of the road (yeah, easy for a guy, not a gal). This Self-Contained Toilet has good reviews on amazon (haven’t used it myself). And if you like privacy, might not hurt to have one of these privacy pop-up tents tucked away behind a seat somewhere. And don’t forget the hand sanitizer or soap and water with paper towels. You may be washing your hands on the side of the road as well.

Continue reading“Misadventures in Moving, by Tober”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

1

Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on tent makers and tent sellers in the American Redoubt. Some folks take the Apostle Paul literally–about being tent makers, that is… Because wall tents and especially their poles are bulky and expensive to ship, it is often best to order one in advance and then pick it up in person. The photo above is historical — it is of a tent used by Idaho gold prospectors, back in the 19th Century. It is not a tent made by any of the listed makers.

Idaho (Tentmakers)

Elk Mountain Tents makes some fine quality wall tents. They are located in Nampa, Idaho.

o o o

Idaho Canvas Products makes some great wall tents.  Contact: email@idahocanvas.com

o o o

Thunder Mountain Tent And Canvas has been family owned and pperated since 1984. They are located in Nampa, Idaho.

o o o

Reader T.Z, sent this news link: Tanzanian Refugees Arrested for Gang Rape of 18-Year-Old Idaho Woman

 

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

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

12

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”.  Today, we focus on the Yellow Vest Protests.

My First Ever “At The Ranch” F2F Interview

A few months back, I agreed to a podcast interview by Eugene Robinson of Ozy Confidential. Since I’ve known Eugene for 30 years and genuinely trust him, he was the first journalist that I’ve ever invited to conduct a face-to-face interview with me here at the Rawles Ranch. For OPSEC reasons, the interview is of course audio only. The photos that he posted in the accompanying article were cropped tightly, by prior agreement, for OPSEC reasons. Oh, and for the record: The photo of Eugene shooting a short-barreled AR off my back porch: That is a 100% legal, BATF-approved AR pistol. It is equipped with an ATF-approved Maxin CQB arm brace. Also: No chickens were harmed in that target shooting session. Although a few cows and horses–that were in a closer pasture than usual–were briefly frightened and inconvenienced.

Yellow Vest Protests in Paris

I took a couple of hours on Saturday to watch a live feed of the Mouvement des gilets jaunes (Yellow Vests) protests in Paris, France. I would estimate the crowd at 30,000+ people. Mostly middle class Blancs, but a scattering of Noirs et Arabes. The crowd had both young and old. But I only saw a couple of baby strollers. One of those moms put her toddler in a tiny yellow vest. A nice touch. Estimated ratio of protestors to police: About 50-to-1.

These protests are now in their 14th successive week. They occur like clockwork on Saturdays–since the protestors are largely employed, productive people who don’t have their weekdays free for playing cat and mouse with the gendarmes.

This has evolved into its own stylized, and fairly civil Kabuki Theater: The police line up in full riot gear, and start launching CS grenades whenever a crowd approaches. On this particular Saturday, the winds were not favorable, and they ended up tear-gassing themselves. I saw one protestor hobbling after being hit in the leg by a launched tear gas grenade. Ouch!

I noticed that the few young men who were breaking up paving stones and chucking the shards at the police were all wearing black hoodies (and about half wearing yellow vests over those sweatshirts). Many of them appeared to be of Arab descent. (Agent provocateurs?)

A Side Note:  If you are wondering where people obtained their thousands of matching-color vests: Every French motorist is required by law to purchase and carry two vests in their car, or otherwise face a fine. (Part of the nationally mandated annual car inspection.) This is the Law of Unintended Consequences, writ large.

Je Suis Désolé Mais Mon Observation: I believe that the French protestors would have made a more immediate and productive change in reversing government’s heavy taxes if everyone attending would have brought themselves both a yellow vest and a FAMAS.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“The Five Levels of Trust:
1. The government man says: Its raining outside. I can look out the window and verify. Trust level is good.
2. The government man says: its 35 degrees outside. I can use simple technology to verify, trust level is good.
3. The government man says: the temperature at 70,000 feet altitude is -42 degrees, I cannot verify without extremely expensive equipment, but others can, so I kind of trust this because someone else can verify it. Trust level is Okay, at this point it does not affect me.
4. The government man says the temperature at 70,000 feet is too high and we must do something about it. There is no way for anybody to verify this, because no one knows what that temperature is “supposed to be” and there is no historical record or research possible for it going back hundreds or thousands of years for a “control” or “normal” to be established. Trust [is] gone.
5. The government man says “I am taking some of your money, and restricting your activities to fix this problem in the upper atmosphere, and you are not allowed to question or dispute me.” Trust in your ammo box, [that] I trust it is full.” – SurvivalBlog Reader “Sam on the Left Coast”

Springfield Armory SAINT AR Pistol, by Pat Cascio

9

Editor ‘s Note: This review is of the standard Springfield Armory SAINT AR pistol. It is not to be confused with the Saint Edge, which Pat reviewed on January 21, 2019. Pat also reviewed the Saint rifle, in February, 2017.

—

Most of the time, I have at least 25 products awaiting testing and a follow-up article. So, my plate is always full. When the Springfield Armory Saint AR Pistol first came out, I had to take a pass on testing it – just too much of a backlog. When things settled down a bit, I requested a sample of this AR pistol, and I regret having put it off for so long.

The concept of an AR pistol isn’t new. They’ve been around commercially since the 1990s – in many different configurations. However, many simply did not have appealing looks or ergonomics. And, many of these pistols just didn’t function well. Its not a question of just cutting down the barrel. There is a lot more involved than just that, to tune a gas system design. Plus, there was no such thing as an arm brace until just a few years back. Instead, you had a pretty much bare buffer tube, with perhaps a foam sleeve on it. And  and at two different times you could not legally shoulder the pistol – if you did, it was deemed a federal crime.

Continue reading“Springfield Armory SAINT AR Pistol, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Avalanche Lily’s Basic Ground Beef Stir Fry

4
Avalanche Lily’s Basic Ground Beef Stir Fry

 

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef

1 Tablespoon of coconut oil

1 Medium onion

1 Tablespoon garlic

1 large sweet pepper (red, yellow, orange, or green) or 1 cup of mixed diced peppers

4 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 Grocery store-sized zuchinni, halved and sliced

1 Quart bag diced tomatoes or can of diced tomatoes

Oregano, to taste

Basil, to taste

Himalayan Salt, to taste

Continue reading“Recipe of the Week: Avalanche Lily’s Basic Ground Beef Stir Fry”

Letter: A Recent Test of Stored 2008-Vintage MREs

4
Dear Editor:
I am always interested in the viability of stored supplies, and am amazed at how quickly expiration dates are reached when one becomes a prepper. I’m the fellow that sent in the report of long-frozen yeast some months ago, and recently conducted a taste-test of an MRE purchased in August, 2008. I thought our brother and sister readers may be interested in my findings.
The MRE was packaged by the MRE Star company, out of Hollywood, Florida. It was purchased in a case lot from a Brigade Quartermaster “brick & mortar” store in August, 2008. Though I have no way of knowing the actual manufacture date of the MREs (this simple data point seems to be shrouded in mystery on most all MREs), this store was fairly well respected at the time, and I don’t think they would have sold old merchandise. Though I have no doubt that these MREs were made for the civilian market, they did contain [military contract water-activated chemical]  heaters.
MRE Shelf Life at Room Temperature
These MREs had been stored at controlled room temperature (in this case 65-75 degree F), in the original case, for the entire duration of storage.
After activating the heater and waiting 15 minutes, the entree contents were warm, but not hot. The heater was hot to the touch, so perhaps if I had let it “cook” longer it would have been warmer. The “Marinara Sauce with Meatballs” entree appeared tomato-red, with good texture and smell. Upon tasting I found that it was quite good! Served over rice or noodles, it would have made a tasty meal. After enjoying about 2/3 of the meatballs, I finally succumbed to my wife’s begging to stop. Since I am writing this 48 hours after ingesting the meatballs, I will assume that they weren’t toxic! I give the entree an unexpected A+.
Unfortunately, the side dishes failed miserably. The nut & raisin mix, dried fruit, and sugar cookies were so rancid that I almost lost my meatballs just sniffing them! I needed no encouragement from my wife to dispose of these products untasted. The orange drink power was a solid block which gave off a strong chemical scent. The coffee packet was fused to the contents, but still smelled like coffee. Neither of these products was tasted.
Based on the results of this taste-test, I opened all of the MREs in the case, disposed of the side dishes, and retained the entrees, heaters, and spoons to go into my “perhaps-better-than-nothing” section. I plan to try one of the vegetarian entrees soon (6 of 12 of the MREs contained vegetarian options).
I summary, I was surprised that the entree, which I had planned to discard, was really the only edible part of the kit! I would love to hear from my fellow readers of their recommendations and experiences in MRE purchase, storage, and testing – as well as any testing that they have conducted on any stored products. Specifics regarding type of product, age, and storage conditions would be very helpful. I can think of few worse nightmares than to finally need our preps, only to discover that they had deteriorated beyond use. Better to find out now than later!!
Best wishes to all, and thanks to you and Jim for all that you do! I would encourage my fellow SurvivalBlog  readers to remember their 10 Cent Challenge donation. It is, indeed, a very small price to pay!  – S.H. in TX

Economics & Investing For Preppers

1

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. This is the news that you won’t hear on CNBC! Today’s focus is on Auto Loan Delinquencies. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

This was reported on Friday: Gold Prices Up, At Weekly Highs, On Bullish Technical Momentum

o o o

Invest In Gold Price As A Hedge In Cashless Society – Ex IMF Rogoff (Audio)

o o o

China Accelerates Renewed Gold-Buying Spree “To Diversify Its Reserves”

 

Economy & Finance (Auto Loan Delinquencies):

From Wolf Richter’s Wolf Street: Subprime Arrives: Auto-Loan Delinquencies Spike to Great Recession Levels

o o o

Also from Wolf: Mortgage Applications Drop Despite Lower Mortgage Rates: Industry is Baffled

o o o

Hercy sent us this from Charles Hugh-Smith: What Happens When More QE Fails to Reverse the Recession?

Commodities:

Capital Economics: Copper To Rise More Than 60% In Six Years

o o o

Saudi’s Oil Policy – ‘Fool Me Twice, Shame On You’

 

Forex & Cryptos:

Alasdair Macleod: Currencies Threatened By A Credit Crisis

o o o

At CCN: Why Won’t Crypto Exchange Cryptopia Come Clean on How Disastrous Last Month’s Hack Really Was?

o o o

Virginia Police Department Reveals Why its Pension Fund is Betting on Bitcoin

Tangibles Investing:

Whilst web wandering, I stumbled into a good source for high grade pre-1899 antique cartridge guns: Frontier American of Fargo. I haven’t yet done any business with them, so caveat emptor.

o o o

CRS Report for Congress – Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Exemptions for Firearms in Bankruptcy

 

Provisos:

SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for our detailed disclaimers.

News Tips:

Please send your economics and investing news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who particularly watch individual markets. And due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” investing news. We often get the scoop on economic and investing news that is probably ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!

S.42: How a Freedom Becomes a Felony

27

The U.S. Congress is now on the cusp of passing a horribly unconstitutional law. It is designated H.R. 8 in the House and S.42 in the Senate. These bills would criminalize the American tradition of private party sales, trades, and gifts of firearms. It would become a felony crime to transfer any post-1898 firearm without first visiting a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder to fill out an ATF Form 4473, paying a transfer fee, and having that FFL phone the FBI to conduct a background check on the transferee. Without a “Yes you may” response from the ‘Mother May I?” Nanny State, it will be illegal to buy a gun, even from your next door neighbor.

EupHemistic Buzz Phrases

The mainstream media has been ceaselessly parroting the Brady Campaign buzz phrases: “Universal background checks”, “Common sense gun laws” and “Closing the gun show loophole”. They don’t dare accurately refer to this bill as a “private party gun sales ban.” Instead, by using their soft sounding buzz phrases, they have horribly duped the American populace. Polls now show that 90% of our countrymen support the legislation. Of course, as with all polls, it all depends on the polling universe selected, and how a poll question if worded. The result of asking: “Do you support Universal Background Checks?” is substantially different than if they had asked: “Do you support banning the private sale of guns inside your state?”

H.R. 8 / S.42 would have wide-reaching effects and most likely some unintended consequences. If nothing else it will essentially destroy gun shows, as we now know them. In essence, every gun show in every state will be reduced to the level of a New Jersey gun show. To wit: You can look at guns, but can’t buy them, unless the seller visits a willing licensed dealer, hands the dealer the gun, you then pay a fee (unspecified and unlimited in the law) for the privilege of the transfer, you fill out sworn Federal paperwork, you provide current government-issued identification, and you pass a phoned-in background check call to the FBI. Then, and only then, can you take the gun home. Skipping any step of this process would be a felony.

Very Few ExEMPTions

Based on my reading of the bill and associated federal statutes, the only exemptions from the private transfer ban would be:

    • Any transfer of pre-1899 antique guns. (Not considered “firearms” per Title 18 U.S. Code.)
    • 80% complete receivers. (Not considered “firearms” per Title 18 U.S. Code.)
    • Official duty-related transfers to military service members, police officers, and security guards.
    • Gifts of modern (1899 and later) guns within immediate families
    • For executors of wills or trusts.
    • Very short term loans of guns while hunting or target shooting while you are present.
    • Very short term loans of guns to prevent imminent death or bodily injury.

The legislative juggernaut orchestrated by Representative Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer is now rolling along at high speed. H.R. 8 is being rushed through committee, for a short debate and a vote on the House floor. On February 13th, it passed out of the House Judiciary Committee today on a vote of 23 to 15. Now, a simple majority of 218 votes is needed for passage. Alarmingly, the bill already has 231 co-sponsors, including five Republicans. Thus, passage in the House is almost certain. But the Senate version can be stopped if sufficient pressure is applied by constituents.

As I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, there are many flaws in H.R. 8 / S.42.   First and foremost is of course that it is a gross violation of the 2nd Amendment. Our right to keep and bear arms also implies the right to acquire them without hindrance. Something as simple as a glitch in the telephone system or in the FBI’s computer database could deprive us of a fundamental right. Next, the pending bills are an unconstitutional expansion of congressional power specified in teh Commerce Clause of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. Therein, congress is granted oversight of interstate commerce. But the sale of firearms between two private parties living in the confines of the same state is clearly intrastate commerce. (Not interstate!)  This simply is not within federal jurisdiction.

H.R. 8 / S.42 would create a modification of existing Federal gun laws, codified in Title 18, U.S. Code. The authority for all of Title 18 USC is based on the Commerce Clause in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. Thus, passing this law, congress would certainly be exceeding their authority. And therefore, by extension, they would be creating a law that is null and void, ab initio. An unconstitutionally bad law is not really a law.  “Lex Mala, Lex Nulla!”

A Bitter Irony

Many unconstitutional laws are eventually struck down by the courts, but until they are, we have to live with them, under the shadow of their penalties. In this case the penalty is a federal felony conviction with prison terms of up to 10 years, lifetime loss of voting rights, and lifetime loss of all firearms rights. The bitter irony of this legislation is that by exercising a right that predates even the Constitution itself, you could face the penalty of complete loss of your right to own any gun.

The new law also has implications for 4th Amendment and 5th Amendment rights. Taking what was formerly a private transaction and making it a privilege that is catalogued in permanent FFL paperwork is a violation of our 4th Amendment right to privacy. And forcing all gun buyers to answer a long series of Yes or No questions and then signing their name, under penalty of perjury, compromises our 5th Amendment right to be free from self-incrimination.

Even though these bills give lip service to not forming a gun registration database, the net effect in the long term will be de facto registration,  Why? Because completed Form 4473s must be kept on file permanently by licensed dealers. And when any dealer eventually goes out of business, by law, all of their records are sent to a permanent  repository at the ATF’s Out Of Business Records Center. And those records are gradually being OCR scanned and hence are traceable.

The New Law, in Real Life

The changes in Federal law that H.R. 8 / S.42 will create will have some unanticipated drama for what are presently almost universally recognized as purely innocent acts and “the way things have always been” in our country. Here are some examples of how life will be after the new federal law goes into effect:

  • For $250, you buy the entire contents of a local storage unit that was in arrears on its rental fees. You take many of the un-opened boxes home to sort through them. A few days later you find that there is a Glock 9mm pistol in amongst the clothes, shoes, books, tools, and Beanie Babies. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • An elderly widow in your neighborhood asks you “what to do” about her late husband’s deer rifle and shotgun. You visit her and she offers you the pair of them to you for $300. You pay her cash and take them home. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • You go hunting with some friends. One of them needs a shotgun to use. You lend him your spare Remington 870. He is grateful. You begin your hunt, but you are called home, for an emergency. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • An ad in the local Penny Saver newspaper catches your eye: An antique Winchester Model 1894. You visit the seller’s home, to see the gun. The seller says that he is “pretty sure” that the rifle was made before 1899. You like it, so you pay him and take it home. After getting home you look up the serial number range. It turns out that it was made in 1901. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • Your father offers to trade deer rifles, since he knows that you’ve want a pre-’64 Model 70. You trade him your nearly identical post-’64 rifle. To make up for the difference in value, you also give him $100. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • Uncle Bob–your elderly great uncle who lives in a nearby town–gives you his Hi-Standard H-B .22 target pistol as a Christmas gift. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • At a local gun show and buy a big box of assorted AR-15 parts. It is marked “$600 for all.”  Since you can see that the box contains two complete uppers, extra furniture, and dozens of small parts, and a scope on a Picatinny mount, you think it is good deal.  You pay cash. After you get home, you go through the box in detail and find a stripped AR-15 lower receiver wrapped up in a cloth. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • You are paid to clean out a house that had belonged to a now deceased hoarder. You are told that you can keep what you want and haul the rest to the dump. In one of the closets, you find a Mossberg 500 shotgun. It has a lot of wear and some pitting. But you decide to take it home to refinish the stock yourself, and pay a gunsmith to re-blue it. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • A friend of yours gets busted for Marijuana possession. He asks his wife to give you his S&W Model 659 pistol, because he can no longer legally own it. He says: “I just want to get it out of my house.” Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • The local chapter of Ducks Unlimited holds an annual fundraising dinner. You win a Door Prize of a shotgun. You take it home without filling out a Form 4473 or a background check. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • While out metal detecting, you find a rusty old Savage .32 ACP pistol. You take it home to clean it up. Now you are an unconvicted felon.
  • Your brother will soon be married and is short on cash to buy a wedding ring. He sells you his spare scoped deer rifle. You hand him your personal check for $700. Now you are an unconvicted felon.

Do any of those sound plausible or even vaguely like your own experiences?  The way that S.42 is written, the foregoing would all be federal felony crimes.

Deep Schumer

Please contact both of your U.S. Senators and remind them that they took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. Voting for passage of this bill would be spitting in the face of our Founding Fathers. If this bill passes, our precious American Liberty will be in Deep Schumer. Oh, and if it does pass, I predict that the national legislators will give the final vote tally thunderous applause.

After possible passage in the Senate, our only hope will be a Presidential veto. At that stage, we will need to absolutely jam the White House switchboard with calls, voicemails, FAXes, and e-mails, 24 hours a day.

Plan B

Although I’m doing my very best to fight passage of the private gun sales ban bills, I’m a realist. I recognize that Congress goes off the deep end with gun restrictions once in a while. They clearly did so in 1934, 1968, 1986, and 1994. Will 2019 be next? Perhaps. Plan A is stopping enactment. Plan B is mitigating its effects.

If this bad bill does become law, then be ready:  We will probably have only 180 days before it goes fully into effect. This will create a six month window of opportunity for those of us living in any of the 41 still free States (with private party sales) to gather up as many un-papered guns as possible, for our families. So start drafting your shopping list, now. Build that list with your children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchilden in mind. Start checking gun show calendars for your state. During the purchasing window of opportunity, stock up on as many up-papered black rifles as you can afford. Stack them deep. And once the window closes, then shift to buying pre-1899 cartridge guns that are in common (still factory made) chamberings. Those are bound to go up in price dramatically, once people realize that these will be our last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy. – JWR

 

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

12

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”.  Today, we focus on travel freedom.

Oklahoma May Adopt Constitutional Carry

Reader DSV sent us this great news at Truth About Guns: Oklahoma Clears Another Hurdle Toward Becoming the 15th Constitutional Carry State.

US Army’s Newest EW/SIGINT Tactical Vehicle

At Zero Hedge: US Army’s Newest Electronic Warfare Tactical Vehicle Was Tested At Fort Irwin. JWR’s Comments:  Note the H-Adcock array time-of-arrival DF antennas atop the accompanying Humvees. The one that is tilted is an embarrassment. I’m surprised thathe Army approved release of that photp. You see, to provide accurate DF, an H-Adcock antenna has to be level. The U.S. Army’s EW-RSTA program managers still seem to be obsessed with cramming a lot of intel gathering and jamming equipment into one vehicle. This platform development strategy dates back to their 1980/90s Ground Based Common Sensor (GBCS) boondoggle. At least Prophet was a relative success. I reckon that they’ll get it right with lighter, more distributed sensor systems, with a reactive jamming system mounted on a separate platform. That will probably be in another decade or so. At that point they will have come full circle– back to what Army tactical ASA units fielded some 40 years ago. That was the days of the TRQ-32 and the TLQ-17A. History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes. (Thanks to Gregg for the link.)

Argentina Retrospective

Our own H.J.L. suggested Jerry Rye’s 2015 slideshow retrospective of 80 years of mismanagement: Argentina.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” – Revelation 19:10 – Revelation 20:4 (KJV)

 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – February 16, 2019

February 16th is the birthday of Edgar John Bergen, (1903-1978) an American actor, comedian, and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. He is also the father of actress Candice Bergen.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 81 ends on March 28th, 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.