Important Note: SurvivalBlog in 2019

10

I only post a few editorial reminders about voluntary Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions. Today, I’m posting the most important one of the year.

Please keep in mind that to operate SurvivalBlog we have large expenses for our local ISP, web hosting, our backup web site, software, phone bills, and legal fees. We live in a very litigious society. Two years ago we were targeted in a frivolous defamation lawsuit just for posting a link. This was settled out-of-court, early in 2018. Per the terms of that settlement, I am not allowed to elaborate on the details. But I can tell you that we had more than $12,000 in attorney’s fees, just for the preliminary legal defense expenses.

Presently, the combined advertising income, Amazon Associates commissions, consulting, and contributions are not enough to cover our monthly expenses. In 2017, Amazon reduced its commission rates across the board. This dropped our monthly Amazon income by about 40%. And with the “Trump Slump” of preparedness complacency, our paid advertising revenue has also dropped.

In short: Our blog’s expenses are high, and our income is low.

Why We are Different

SurvivalBlog is a unique information resource. No other blog on preparedness offers the combination of daily posts and deep archives, all free of charge.

We have done our best to keep SurvivalBlog a top-quality “old school” blog. Consider that when you read SurvivalBlog, you are getting original content that is all:

  • Without a pay wall and endless “Please whitelist us” reminders
  • Without annoying pop-up ads
  • Without “sponsored” content written by some know-nothing hack (journalistic prostitution)
  • Without distracting advertisements with animations and blinking
  • Without push or “opt-in” notifications (“Would you like to sign up for free notifications?”)
  • Without infinite scrolling (a bottomless main page)
  • Without slideshows that force you to click ten times and see ten different ads, just to read a “top ten list”
  • Without profanity, crude language, and t*ts pictures
  • Without obvious modern stock photos above every article
  • Without daily recitations of what we ate, who we met, and the exotic places we’ve visited
  • Without requiring our readers to sign up with Facebook, just to leave a comment
  • Without autoplaying video
  • and without taking any days off from posting.  (For more than 12 years we’ve consistently posted the blog daily, without fail!)

If you find that you get more than 10 cents worth of value per day in reading SurvivalBlog, then please donate 10 cents a day ($36 per year) to help support the blog’s costs. Ask yourself: “Since I now regularly read SurvivalBlog, is my family now more likely to survive a disaster?” If the answer is yes, then consider putting a pricetag on the knowledge you have gained. For a sense of perspective, consider that the average American adult spends more than $1,000 per year on coffee. $36 a year is not asking a lot.

There are several payment options including PayPal, cash, checks, Bitcoin, booklets of U.S. postage stamps, and even mailing a few silver dimes. (Some folks annually send us five or six pre-1965 silver dimes taped to a scrap of cardboard.)

Why Not Patreon?

I’ve had some readers write to suggest that we use Patreon, to solve our operating expense shortfall.  I did, in fact recently set up a Patreon account. But after they recently banned Sargon of Akkad–their 13th largest account, I decided to deactivate my Patreon account, on principle. Just like the various social media sites, Patreon has begun to subjectively censor the speech of those they deem Politically Incorrect. I believe that the current wave of censorship is going to get worse, in the next few years. Thankfully we have our own offshore server, but we still need to receive payments. That is the remaining vulnerability.

Some of the content creators who quit Patreon moved to a service called SubscribeStar. Then, soon after, PayPal stopped all of SubscribeStar’s payments, effectively destroying it! This was further evidence of a multi-platform conspiracy to ban conservative and libertarian speech. Their banning of Alex Jones in August, 2018 was just the beginning. (Jones was banned by Facebook, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, all within a 24-hour period. Soon after, he was also banned by Vimeo, Twitter, and several others.)

I anticipate that shadow banning, de-linking, de-ranking, de-monetizing and outright de-platforming will become the norm. I won’t be surprised to see that PayPal starts freezing or closing the accounts of those they deem “offensive”, or “non-inclusive” within the next two years.

I am not certain that SurvivalBlog will survive this growing wave of tyrannical censorship of the Internet.

Because of the coordinated wave of censorship, the only viable alternative is to build redundancy and alternatives to online payment systems. The good news is: They can’t stop the signal, and they can’t stop the U.S. Mail!  Your donations via good old Snail Mail are beyond their grasp. Our mail forwarding address is:

SurvivalBlog.com
P.O. Box 303
Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845

Please makes your checks and money orders payable to “Jim Rawles”.

Our current Bitcoin receiving address is: 3GVcXveQGB6V9Py7WKjHN5ZC9KiiavHdgw

New Advertisers

We now have space for a few more banner advertisers in our right-hand bar. If you have a product or service that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog, then please prayerfully consider signing up for an ad. Our ads are very inexpensive and quite productive. (SurvivalBlog readers tend to buy things in quantity, and be repeat customers!) Text ads start at just $100 per month.

Another Way To Help

Even if you are on a fixed income and cannot afford to support the blog financially, then please do your bit by posting links to SurvivalBlog when and where you can. Also: Please tell your friends, neighbors, co-workers and fellow church congregants about the blog. Thanks!

Only about 1% of readers are Ten Cent Challenge subscribers. If we can boost that to 5%, then we will solve our operating expense shortfall. Please join in, and help keep this valuable information service afloat. Your contributions are needed and greatly appreciated! – JWR

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – January 02, 2019

January 2nd, 1776 is the anniversary of the first revolutionary flag to be displayed.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 80 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 gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. 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 80 ends on January 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.

Nuclear War Won’t Be Like Hollywood Portrays It- Part 1, by 3ADscout

34

If we believe the Hollywood screen writers, no one can survive a nuclear attack and anyone that beats the odds will turn into some type of mutant radioactive zombie. Furthermore, if you believe the Hollywood hype, you are probably like many people (prepper or not) who don’t even bother to prepare for nuclear attack and hope that you go quick if it happens. Yet, with some basic knowledge and pre-planning, you can survive.

My Knowledge

My knowledge comes from decades of being a prepper, including a collegiate debate concerning “nuclear winter” in which I debated the fallacy of nuclear winter based on the design flaws of the research. While in the military, I also served on my unit’s nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) reconnaissance team. I am also on my county’s radiological monitoring team and serve as a county radiological officer as part of our county’s hazardous materials (HazMat) team. Being on the county’s HazMat team allowed me the privilege of attending a course at the Nevada test site, where we actually did radiation monitoring training at actual nuclear weapons blast sites.

Radiation Basics

Let me go over the radiation basics. There are three types of radiation– alpha, beta, and gamma– that you need to understand, when preparing for a nuclear blast. There is also neutron radiation, but it will not be discussed in this article.

Continue reading“Nuclear War Won’t Be Like Hollywood Portrays It- Part 1, by 3ADscout”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

2

 

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 JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) The 116th Congress will be seated tomorrow. Hang on to your wallets, and your guns!  Today’s focus is on the recent stock market volatility.  (See the Stocks section.)

 

Precious Metals:

Gold: Beating the Stock Market for the Month, Quarter, Year…and Century

o o o

Clive Maund: Gold Market Update

o o o

Ron Paul’s Greatest Interview: Gold, Silver, Freedom, Free Markets, & Sound Money – Mike Maloney

 

Economy & Finance:

2019 Economy Almost Certain to Slow Down From 2018 ‘Year on Steroids’

o o o

At Zero Hedge: What States Are Doing To Offer More Currency Competition In 2019

o o o

 Five New Tax Hikes, Fees In New Jersey Start Now

o o o

More retailers are banning cash

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on raising and hunting turkeys. Yes, some folks are already planning their spring season wild turkey hunts! (See the Books, Instructional Videos, and Gear sections.)

Books (Turkeys):

Storey’s Guide to Raising Turkeys, 3rd Edition: Breeds, Care, Marketing

o  o  o

How to Raise Heritage Turkeys on Pasture

o  o  o

Successful Turkey Hunting

o  o  o

Field Dressing and Butchering Upland Birds, Waterfowl, and Wild Turkeys

 

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

The Coming Second Civil War

110

A new paradigm has become evident in both the demographics and the political landscape of 21st Century America. Our nation’s major political camps are becoming increasingly polarized. The differences between the more populous and liberal coastal regions versus the lightly-populated and conservative inland regions are growing more sharp with every passing year. In the long term, a clash of wills between the Red and the Blue is almost inevitable. Whether this will result in conflict or in eventual partition and accommodation remains to be seen. Trouble might occur as early as the year 2020. Or it might be a full generation away. But sooner or later, I can definitely see it coming. This rift might result in a Second Civil War. If and when it comes, this war will not be on racial lines nor on economic lines per se. Rather, It will be a war of world views.

Even a liberal and profoundly statist magazine like The Atlantic has recognized that there are huge disparities between rural America and urban America. In a recent article titled Red State, Blue City, author David A. Graham pointed out there might be armed conflict between the two camps.

Another troubling change is the overt politicization of our government agencies. Recently the US FBI –once considered an unassailable paragon of the even-handed Rule of Law–has recently come under fire for harboring political schemers. These conspirators formed a secret society within the FBI that maneuvered the agency to selectively soft-pedal investigations on their friends, while ramrodding investigations on their political opponents.

The supposedly “Independent” Mueller investigations have been tainted by heavy political overtones. There are now competing camps within the FBI, the CIA, the DIA, and even the Department of the Interior. No state or Federal agency or subdivision of government can now be trusted to conform to the Constitution and its strictures. All of that went out the window, back around the turn of the Century. (The 21st Century, that is.)

Continue reading“The Coming Second Civil War”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

7

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 Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. (See the Eastern Washington section.)

Idaho

Lewiston: Moms Demand Action Instructor Teaches ‘Gun Safety’ by Holding Handgun by the Muzzle

o o o

Disaster preparation is a growing market for Idaho businesses

Montana

Men killed in semi pileup near Superior identified

o o o

Man accused of plotting to kidnap Letterman’s son is freed

 

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

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

9

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 “HJL”. JWR is filling in today, as Hugh is busy building the new annual blog archive. Today we are focusing on the possible End of the Trump Slump for the firearms and prepping industries.

The Prepper Moms

Here is a fairly-well balanced piece over at Medium.com: The Prepper Moms. The article begins: “Not all doomsday survivalists are macho men with bunkers and chainsaws. Meet the women preparing for the worst.”

End of the Trump Slump?

Back in September, headlines like this were common: Gun sellers seeing ‘Trump slump’ drag down sales. But with the arrival of the new Democrat-majority congress, we will most likely soon be reading of another boom in gun sales. Stack your guns, ammo, and full capacity magazines deep, while they are still inexpensive and plentiful. Presently, stripped AR-15 lower receivers at around $40 apiece are a real bargain. In a couple of years, you might wish that you bought 50 of them!

o  o  o

Likewise, the Trump Slump has hit the food storage industry.  Storage foods are presently priced quite low and there are no shortages.  Nearly everything you’d like is available with no waiting. But with news of poor grain harvests and bad weather, the “plenty” situation will likely end.  Be like the grasshopper, folks!  Stock up, in times of plenty.

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

Blackhawk Terrain Mid-Training Shoes, by Pat Cascio

18

A good shoe is important to survival, be it in the city or out in the boonies. Without a good shoe, you may fail in your survival efforts. We’re looking at the Blackhawk Products Terrain Mid-Training shoe.

Discount Big Box Store Shoes

I know. I know. We all have to watch how we spend our hard-earned money these days, and I’m no exception to this. I certainly understand the discount shoe stores and big box stores, who sell cheap shoes, and I mean this not only in price but that they’re cheaply made. Oh sure, they initially look really well made; however, in short order, they start to fall apart. There’s been more than a few times in my life when all I could afford were some “mart” shoes or hikers, because of a lack of funds. However, in the end, I wasted my hard-earned money. The footwear simply did not stand-up as I thought they would.

Important To Outfit Feet With Best Footwear You Can Buy

One of the most important things you can do for yourself and your body, your feet in particular, is to outfit them with the best footwear you can buy. In the end, you really will save money over the discounted shoes you can find just about any place. It really is a no-brainer. If you ask me, it’s best to save up your money until you have enough to get good footwear. It’s just that simple.

Continue reading“Blackhawk Terrain Mid-Training Shoes, by Pat Cascio”