Caffeine for TEOTWAWKI, by N.E.S.

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I will be addressing both coffee and tea options that work for us around our homestead. I will start with coffee. I am certainly no coffee connoisseur; I am just a homestead wife trying to make some decent coffee for my hubby. We are not sophisticated in that we try to detect certain acidity, aromas etc. My hubby just wants coffee that he enjoys drinking. I am in no way affiliated with any of the vendor suggestions that I comment about here. Rather, I’m just listing the things that through the research that I have done through this journey. I figured it might save some a little trial and effort.

There are lots of different ways to brew your coffee which I will not be going over since most folks have that system down pretty well at this point.

My hubby is a coffee addict. I wondered a while back what would happen if the coffee beans became scarce or not available for a long period of time–such as in TEOTWAWKI. I have been experimenting with coffee storage for quite some time now. Coffee that has been roasted prior to buying at the store has a pretty short shelf life. After some research online I came up with roasting green coffee beans at home.

My hubby likes a really dark roast, almost espresso dark and was having a hard time finding that roast at my normal stores that I frequent. We got away from going to Starbucks etc. as we did not have that extra money at the time and we live pretty far out of town. That is when I started doing research on roasting at home.

Green coffee beans can be bought in bulk from several sources. I am lucky enough to have a green coffee seller in my area. Green coffee beans keep for years properly stored. I just store mine in 5 gallon buckets with Gamma Seal lids. The coffee itself is placed in mylar bags and sealed. Another option for sealing which I have also done is to store in ½ gallon canning jars and vacuum seal them to keep them fresh with a vacuum sealer jar attachment. Both methods work great. Green coffee beans will store for many years if kept in a cool, dry, dark area. You can get as basic or as sophisticated as you want in the choice you make for your coffee beans. Price can also vary widely depending on the varietal choice that you make.Continue reading“Caffeine for TEOTWAWKI, by N.E.S.”

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 mass media coverage of the American Redoubt movement.  (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

CoVID-19: Time to Relocate?

o o o

America’s ‘survivalists’ feel vindication as they lock down for coronavirus epidemic — with ‘beans, bullets and Band-Aids’. A pericope:

“While some, like Rawles, are already hunkered down at their remote ranch, others are ready to flee, a move known among preppers as “bugging out.”

The ranches are usually in the “American Redoubt” in the northwest, covering Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and eastern Oregon and Washington. It is a term coined by Rawles that means a political migration to mountain states in the northwestern U.S. considered a place of refuge for libertarian, conservative survivalists.

Up in that vast wilderness the population is thin, cities are distant, gun laws are relatively lax, and there is plenty of land, water and hunting.”

o o o

The NPR affiliate Boise State Public Radio almost predictably labelled survivalists as “anti-government” in this piece: Anti-Government Activists Split On Coronavirus Emergency Orders. Here is a  snippet:

“What does unite anti-government movements during the pandemic is the importance of firearms. On a recent online broadcast of the prepper-focused Radio Free Redoubt, host John Jacob Schmidt said he’s relieved to be surrounded by heavily armed preppers during a crisis.

“It feels so good to be living in the American Redoubt,” he said.

The American Redoubt is generally thought of by survivalists and militia groups as a region encompassing parts of Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana. It is seen by them as a kind of last refuge from societal collapse.

Todd Savage lives in North Idaho and runs Black Rifle Real Estate, which caters to preppers and followers of the Redoubt movement. He says his business is booming over the past month as concerns about COVID-19 have jumped to the fore.

Given that his company name is a nod to the AR-15 rifle, it’s unsurprising that he thinks guns are essential during a pandemic.

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said. “When somebody is breaking down your door because they’re desperate for food, water, medicine for their family, what are you going to do?””Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

2

“The socialist ideal eventually goes viral, and the majority learns to game the system. Everyone is trying to live at the expense of everyone else. In the terminal phase, the failure of the system is disguised under a mountain of lies, hollow promises, and debts. When the stream of other people’s money runs out, the system collapses.” – Kevin Brekke

Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 13, 2020

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April 13, 1743 The birthday of Thomas Jefferson. (He died on July 4, 1826.)

—

A reminder: Patrice Lewis of the great Rural Revolution blog has launched a sale of her complete Country Living Series collection of 52 homesteading and practical skills e-booklets for download or on CD. I highly recommend her writings.

—

Today we present another product review by our venerable Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Zero Tolerance 0640, by Pat Cascio

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To those many readers who have requested, once again, some high-end folding knives, here’s one that is quite unique. Its not all that easy getting our hands on high-end folding knives because, well…they are very expensive and always in-demand. Today we’re taking a close look at the Zero Tolerance Model 0640 and it’s a winner in every respect.

As I’ve said numerous times, you can buy a knife for $5, or one for several hundred dollars, but don’t expect the less expensive knife to stand up like a quality knife. There are some really nice knives on the market, that are sold on some of those knife selling infomercial channels, where you can get dozens of knives for a hundred bucks, and they look good – in the commercials. However once you get them in your hands, they are nothing more than eye candy. They look good, but they have blades that aren’t heat treated, and most come dull, too. Oh sure, you’ve watched those snake oil salesmen demonstrate how sharp those knives are, by slicing a piece of paper. Well, they took those blades and put an edge on them so that they will do that. Just don’t expect those eye candy blades to do that more than a few times – it ain’t gonna happen.

I really like the Swiss Army knife concept, if only they made they with the best materials. However, if you try using any of those numerous tools that comes on these days, and apply any amount of force, you’ll soon find that you are holding that knife in pieces in your hand – they just aren’t up to the super hard tasks like the high quality multi-tools that we have today. Again, great idea, all those tools in a knife, but I wouldn’t want to bet my life on them.

So, just because a knife looks great on television, don’t expect something that costs a buck or two, to stand up to the rigors of survival, law enforcement, or military duties. You are throwing your money away, and maybe even your life, if you purchase garbage cutlery. Now, with that said, you can get some really high-quality knives from some big name knife companies, like Kershaw Knives, which is a division of Kai USA Corporation, which also owns Zero Tolerance knives. I’ve tested some Kershaw Knives that retailed for $40 to $50 and I’ve got to tell you, they are well-made – quality – for your money. Sure, some are made overseas, but made under strict quality control, and they are not made in slave labor factories.Continue reading“Zero Tolerance 0640, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: GritsinMontana’s Dirty Rice

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Reader GritsinMontana kindly sent us her recipe for Dirty Rice.

Ingredients
  • 1 pound meat (ground beef, chicken, or sausage)
  • 1/2 pound chicken livers (traditional but optional)
  • 1 cup white rice
  • 1.5 cups chicken broth
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1-2 bell peppers, finely chopped
  • 3-4 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • A bit of butter or olive oil
  • Thyme, dried or fresh
  • One Bayleaf. (Remove after cooking.)
  • Garlic, 2-3 cloves, minced
  • Salt, 2-3 teaspoons
And these three peppers, to taste:
  • White pepper (start with 1 tsp) 
  • Black pepper (start with 1 tsp) 
  • Red pepper (start with 1/2 tsp) 
Directions
  1. Wash your hands!
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. Pull your 10 inch cast iron skillet out of the cabinet and set it on the stove top.
  4. Sauté thyme, bay leaf, and garlic in a pat or two of butter or a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
  5. Then add your meat(s) and cook thoroughly.
  6. Now add all the finely chopped veggies to the skillet.  (You can omit veggies you don’t like or substitute amounts of veggies based on what you have lying around. Everything will be just fine in the end.)
  7. After the veggies begin to wilt down, add your rice and continue to sauté for a while until the rice just barely begins to show some brown.
  8. Now add the broth, salt, and the white, black, and red pepper.
  9. Stir slightly to mix the salt and pepper into the broth evenly. (We like it spicy so we increase the red pepper.)
  10. Cook just until the stock is hot.
  11. Place skillet (un-covered) in the preheated 400 degree oven for approximately 18-20 minutes.
  12. Remove from oven.
This recipe should roughly fit into a 10 inch cast iron skillet. If you use a larger skillet just increase portions accordingly, ensuring you always use a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of broth to roughly 1 pound of ground meat of your choice. (Rice triples in volume so keep that in mind when you decide to use a larger skillet and larger volumes.)
SERVING

Rice should be very flaky and completely done.  Feed this comfort food to anybody you love. It can be served as a side dish or as a main meal (with greens of some sort on the side). And remember to smile, since you only dirtied up one skillet. 

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

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, I speculate on how more PV-equipped vans will soon hit the market, for use as Bug-Out Vehicles. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

This is some now slightly dated but still incisive analysis: Violent Price Divergences Between Real Physical Precious Metal and Futures Prices

o  o  o

Currency Is Being Created ‘On Scale Never Seen Before In The History of Mankind’

Economy & Finance:

PMI Inches Down to 49.1%, But Storm Clouds Brewing

o  o  o

H.L. sent us this: Japan using BILLIONS in stimulus money to lure its firms OUT of China as fallout over coronavirus continues

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: QE-4 Cut in Half this Week. Fed’s Helicopter Money for Wall Street & the Wealthy Hits $1.8 Trillion in 4 Weeks

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

13

“If you all come out now, a bunch of you are going to get sick. If you hold off until May 1, even more of you are going to get sick, and we’ll be in the worst economic depression the world has ever known due to a complete lack of engaging in economy.

If you all hide until September, you’re still going to get sick, and at the worst time of year for it–October-December, just like the flu and other colds. More people will die on top of everyone who’s starving to death because we will have literally no economy left. (And I realize idiots don’t believe this is true, even though in just two weeks we’ve gone from 3% unemployment to 10%. It’ll be 20% by next week, and likely hit 40% by the end of April, if we don’t stop the stupidity right now.)”  – Michael Z. Williamson

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 12, 2020

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April 12th is the birthday of the late novelist Tom Clancy. (Born 1947, died October 1, 2013). It was Clancy who almost single-handedly created the modern techno-thriller genre, with his first novel, The Hunt For Red October. Coincidentally, Tom Clancy’s first literary agent is my agent, Robert Gottlieb.

—

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.

Healthy Livestock for Self-Sufficiency, by Brad N.

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The term sustainability has been defined as “the ability to provide for today, without taking away from tomorrow”. Most of our modern agricultural practices today are anything but sustainable. Our selfishness and get rich quick mentality leave many producers making choices that benefit in the short term, but are actually causing long term damage to both our land and our livestock. In a TEOTWAWKI situation the livestock owner who has been using good management decisions will have little trouble adapting. Those whose management is based on short term success and follow the advice of those who are selling the “magic bullet” for increased gains, will find themselves with a lot of sick livestock and a land base that is unproductive.

We raise cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits and chickens on our ranch. We also have horses, mules, honeybees and several dogs and cats. We have approximately 200 acres of grazing land with several more acres of timber, ponds and buildings. Our soil is productive and alive because of the diversity in our plants and animals. Management is the key to having healthy soil, plants, animals, and ultimately humans.

The more closely we mimic nature, the fewer problems we have. This is most easily seen with the time chosen for when our babies are born. Look at when the deer and elk in your area are giving birth to their young. If God has the wild animals giving birth in May and June, then I am guessing there is a good reason why. I have come to learn that He is a lot smarter than I am!

The majority of cattle producers in our area calve in February and March. Sheep and Goat producers have their lambs and kids born in December and January. I have yet to see a newborn baby come out with a winter coat on! The amount of labor and resources necessary to keep these little ones alive are unsustainable now and nearly impossible in a TEOTWAWKI situation.Continue reading“Healthy Livestock for Self-Sufficiency, by Brad N.”

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 need for oxygen concentrators to treat Wuhan coronavirus patients.

Coronavirus Patients Need Oxygen

Reader S.O.G. sent us this confirmation that finding used oxygen concentrators is a good thing: Covid-19 had us all fooled, but now we might have finally found its secret. Here is a key quote:

“The past 48 hours or so have seen a huge revelation: COVID-19 causes prolonged and progressive hypoxia (starving your body of oxygen) by binding to the heme groups in hemoglobin in your red blood cells. People are simply desaturating (losing O2 in their blood), and that’s what eventually leads to organ failures that kill them, not any form of ARDS or pneumonia. All the damage to the lungs you see in CT scans are from the release of oxidative iron from the hemes, this overwhelms the natural defenses against pulmonary oxidative stress and causes that nice, always-bilateral ground glass opacity in the lungs. Patients returning for re-hospitalization days or weeks after recovery suffering from apparent delayed post-hypoxic leukoencephalopathy strengthen the notion COVID-19 patients are suffering from hypoxia despite no signs of respiratory ‘tire out’ or fatigue.”

Army and USMC to Eliminate Brass-Cased Ammo?

Krissy sent us this link: After 50 Years, the Army and Marine Corps Are Closing In on Dumping Brass-Cased Ammo

Santa Clara County Snooping Supplies of PPE and Ventilators

Reader T.L. spotted this odd announcement from northern California: Santa Clara County Health Officer Order to Gather Information on Local Supplies of Personal Equipment and Ventilators. JWR’s Comment: read between the lines, folks. History has shown that in times of peril, governments get grabby.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

4

 “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.

And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”  – 1 John 4-11(KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 11, 2020

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April 11th is the birthday of John Milius, who was born in 1944. He both wrote the screenplays and directed the films Dillinger, The Wind and the Lion, Big Wednesday, Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn, Farewell to the King, and Flight of the Intruder. He also wrote the screenplays of the first two Dirty Harry movies as well as the first draft of the screenplay for Patton (before Francis Ford Coppola turned it into a vaguely anti-war commentary laced with references to reincarnation). Milius is JWR’s favorite Hollywood writer and director, in part because he stands for everything that Hollywood doesn’t.

—

My prayer for all those who celebrate Passover and/or Easter:  May our nation repent of its wicked ways and renew its covenant with God. Heal our land!

May the love of Christ be with you all!

—

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.

The Simplicity that Prepared Us – Part 2, by John S.

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

COLD-HEARTED US DIPLOMATS and FRIENDLY FOREIGN ENVOYS

It was a shock to me that our own diplomats (some, not all) hate missionaries and Christian humanitarians. I found this out, directly. My sister is a diplomat at the defunct Department of State (DOS). I was aghast that she joined such a liberal, hate filled left wing organization!

The lengthy, dangerous lines at US Embassies in Africa was a big reason we returned back to America. People were stabbed in line there in Nairobi, in 2016. There’s no priority for US citizens, because your seeing the essence of socialism. Literally, there’s no distinction between foreign national, terrorist or US citizen. All merge in line at 5 am, and wait until 10am to get a mere passport.

I remember telling my teen: “If Trump wins, we will probably return to America. Its a last chance for our
Republic.”

In 2016, we were in Kenya watching Trump debate Hillary,  while flies were landing around her and her President. We were praying for one last chance for America, before the Fabian socialists destroy
our once great nation. Truly, Obama unleashed the era of Marxism and the fruit is still seen today.

Our nation birthed missionaries and humanitarian aid. Yet, when we stand in line at US Embassies (in Nairobi, for example) you stand with thousands of unknown and hostile actors. Your literally in Darwin’s survival of the strongest, with the nastiest applicants standing nearby your children and family. It’s dangerous even going to the US Embassy, because they make it dangerous.

This felt like a “Hate Department” towards Americans. I remember visiting an American Citizen Services (ACS) office. Dozens of hijab-clad Muslim women and men were there. 90% of them didn’t speak English and needed an interpreter. Agents would even apologize “Oh, they are just getting passport renewals. Your case takes more time.” It was disgraceful and un-American. It’s degrading and contemptuous of US citizens serving our allies.

We had spent days in this line, over the course of 20 years in Africa. I wasted precious time (usually 8-10 hours traveling on a dirt road or terrible highway) just trying to get to the US Embassy. Only to meet with left wing bueaucrats filled with their partisan hate. So many of them have never worked a real job in their lives. They are mere college graduates, with a head full of liberal theory. And hearts full of hatred towards America.

I remember one day, begging for my son’s USA passport. I remember the American agent, lying to me: “We will serve you today.” I had submitted another application and paid the hard earned $375 for my family member. That same day, they denied the application. I remember being mocked by staff and one of them said “Go file a complaint.” That’s how terrible it is at overseas Consulates. They seem busy processing foreign visas, and usually it fits the Democrat voting profile – liberal, and American hating like Rep. Ilhan Omar. She received priority at our own US Embassy. Literally, she comes from the refugee camps in Kenya. At the same time, we were being harassed by our own US agents there. For some reason, they place refugees on a pedestal, while neglecting their own citizens. I’ve witnessed this numerous times.  I sometimes feel ashamed that my sister works for the DOS, and hope she will join a more patriot-based agency like USCIS, ICE, BORTAC, and DHS. By that I mean, somewhere that veterans are honored and true courage is esteemed.

Continue reading“The Simplicity that Prepared Us – Part 2, by John S.”

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:

I’m finally back into my normal springtime routine at the ranch: writing and editing in the mornings, and ranch work in the afternoons. This week, I dropped a dead-standing red fir that measured about 24″ across, at the butt. I also dropped a healthy white pine that measured about 22″ across, at the butt. That latter was much too close to where I plan to erect an outbuilding, next year. Limbing them and cutting rounds to stove length was time-consuming, even with a sharp chainsaw chain. My kids helped me drag limbs to slash piles. I’m giving those limbs the full summer to dry. The piles will be touched off–after some rains–most likely in October. I should mention that in the past, I did some spring slash burning, but found that getting them started required too much “Woof.” (Dyed Off-Road Diesel.)  So now I do nearly all of my slash and garden waste burning in the fall.

Our life here in the midst of the pandemic is remarkably similar to as it was before. We just have far fewer trips to town, and no face-to-face Bible study meetings. That is what I really miss.

As usual, Lily has a far more detailed report than mine. Sorry that my portion is often written in the terse Joe Friday (“Just The Facts…”) style.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”