Letter: Gun Violence

47

Hugh,
There is unacceptable gun violence in our country. Pro gun versus anti gun citizens and groups go head to head and fight over gun control. I believe we should all be working together to figure out what the real causes of this violence is, working as a team to erase mass shootings and gun crime.

These occurrences make all Americans look bad. We are all to blame– gun owners as well as those who are fighting to end the right for citizens to protect themselves and exercise their constitutional rights.

Maybe there should be a nationwide policy through which the names and details of these shooters lives are erased and the reward of becoming a household name or a name immortalized in the history of our nation is removed from the equation. Furthermore, they should be condemned by all leaders of our society, political or not, as the most disgusting subhuman cowards to ever have existed.

I believe, as a gun owner, there are many reasons why this is happening in our society and gun control alone is not the only answer. Kids can 3D print weapons in their homes. People are fabricating fully automatic weapons in their garages. The technology for firearms is over 600 years old and cannot be kept from evil doers. Removing it from law abiding citizens is unconstitutional. These tools are available in large numbers, due to the cold war and other military ventures, and this very old technology is impossible to keep away from people.

Continue reading“Letter: Gun Violence”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

12

Here are the latest 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.) Today’s focus is on the recent Bitcoin bounce in trading value.

Precious Metals:

Egypt: Billionaire girds for stock-market crash by investing half his net worth in gold.

o o o

Andrew Hecht: Silver – What A Difference A Week Makes

Stocks:

Market correction of 30-40% could be coming soon, investment guru Mark Mobius warns

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“In the 301-450 cubic inch class Burman in the Marquette-Buick also cut the 10-mile record from 7:57.1 to 7:56.45, and established a record for 15 miles at 11:46.4.

Another demonstration of place was made by Hearne in the Benz in the Helmet race, in which his 10 miles in 7:13, average 83.14 miles per hour.

The G&J Trophy race attracted a field of eleven cars which included Burman and Louis Chevrolet in Marquette-Buicks, Pearce and Heineman in Falcars, Fox in a Pope-Hartford, Harroun and Dawson in Marmons, Moore and Davis in Great Westerns, Miller a Warren-Detroit, and Cook in a Black Crow. Chevrolet cut out the pace at the start and held the lead for 10 miles, when Burman, sore at being beaten for the Helmet by Hearne zipped to the front and set a merry clip for his team-mate.

Chevrolet, however, was not beaten so easily and at the 25-mile post his number lead the others on the score board. Shortly after this, however, Burman again gained command, and from that point on held his field in check. All the way, however, he was grimly pursued by Chevrolet.

Burman, however, had plenty up his sleeve and nearing the finish he felt so safe that he stopped at the pits to take on a supply of gasoline and oil. Even with this he had enough left to beat out Chevrolet by 4 seconds.”  – Excerpt from an article in The Automobile magazine, dated July 7, 1910, describing the exploits of racecar driver Bob Burman at the Fourth of July Indianapolis Motor Speedway Race, in 1910. This race pre-dated the Indianapolis 500, which began the following year. Burman died in a racing crash in 1916, in Corona, California..

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – May 03, 2018

3 May, 1952 The birthday of Pastor Chuck Baldwin. He has done yeoman service in promoting the American Redoubt movement.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 76 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. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. 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 transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

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, and
  6. 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).

Round 76 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.

Reducing the Breadcrumbs Produced By Your Digital Life, by P.L.

12

None of us want to unknowingly share personal information, but it’s happening everyday if you browse the web, use email, or have a mobile phone. You could decide “I’m going off the grid!”. That’s great if you can, but it’s not practical for 99% of us.

The Breadcrumbs

So, how might you go about reducing the breadcrumbs produced by your digital life?

ProtonMail

First, consider using ProtonMail for your personal email. There are no ads and no tracking. A basic account is free. I paid for the Plus account, since I wanted more features. I access ProtonMail on my iPhone using their app (instead of using Apple Mail or another mail app). I was using Google’s Gmail and the Gmail app on my iPhone.

Tor Web Browser

Consider using the Tor web browser instead of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, or anything similar. Tor is free. If not Tor, then consider using Firefox , which is also free. I was using Chrome and now use a combination of Tor and Firefox.

Configure Browser to Use DuckDuckGo

Consider configuring your web browser to use the DuckDuckGo search engine instead of Bing, Google, or Yahoo. It’s a weird name, but it is real. Look in Preferences or Settings for your web browser, search the Internet for the simple instructions, or ask a friend. I was using the Google search engine before.

iPhone

If you need a smart phone, then consider switching from Google’s Android to Apple’s iPhone. Apple makes money from the device, not from capturing and utilizing your breadcrumbs. I continue to use an iPhone. I’m not acting as an Apple fan boy here; I believe there are some deep “hooks” in the Android operating system that will continue to emit your breadcrumbs, even if you remove a bunch of the Android-provided apps.

Continue reading“Reducing the Breadcrumbs Produced By Your Digital Life, by P.L.”

Letter Re: Normalcy Bias

21

Hugh,

According to Wikipedia, “The normalcy bias, or normality bias, is a belief people hold when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the likelihood of a disaster and its possible effects, because people believe that things will always function the way things normally have functioned.” It may refer to a disaster, but surely it has a cousin that causes people not to see or consider a “sea change” in technology and its impact on life and politics.

Impact of Computers on Life

Consider how people viewed the impact of computers on life, say 30 years ago. Few people thought computers would have any impact beyond the occasional absurd bill in the mail “some computer generated”.

I think we may be on the verge of another “sea change” in technology. It might be well to consider its impact, if it happens.

Compact Fusion Generator

Recently the Russians have bragged about a cruise missile with nuclear power and “unlimited range.” Absurd? Then consider that Lockheed Martin received patents in February 2018 for a “compact fusion generator” which would provide vast amounts of energy, based in large part on Russian Tokomak technology. Lockheed Martin is a company of proven technological superiority (from the U2 to the SR-71 and its rumored successor), and they are not given to making wild boasts. In 2014 they predicted a demonstration of this technology in five years. Then, last month they again stated a demonstration by late 2019.

Continue reading“Letter Re: Normalcy Bias”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

23

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”.

Another Gun Maker Bites the Dust

According to this article sent in by reader H.L., another company has caved to the SJWs on the left. Vista Outdoor, Inc (owner of Savage Arms and Stevens) has announced that they are seeking to divest themselves of the Arms manufacturing business. They supply a large percentage of outdoor recreational equipment (like bicycle helmets and CamelBak systems) to retailers such as Walmart and REI. In March, REI suspended all orders from the company in order to force its hand. My takeaway from this? I’m canceling my REI membership.

Pro-Gun Public School Walkout

Whatever happened to educating kids at school? While I see why students might want to organize a pro-Second Amendment walk-out in response to earlier anti-gun walkouts, I fail to see what this has to do with educating students. With the public schools failing on all fronts of education and America’s position in world education constantly slipping backwards, this is a travesty. You know that it won’t get the media coverage because the vast majority of media are anti-gun. If I had my child in public school, I wouldn’t let them walk out on either account. Get your kid out of public school while you can and get them into a system that will actually educate them like homeschool or private school.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

2

“A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.” – Samuel Adams

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – May 02, 2018

On May 2, 1945, the Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 76 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. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. 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 transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

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, and
  6. 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).

Round 76 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.

Never Think You Are Safe, by A.E.

18

Back in 1986, I was living in a ground floor condo in a large complex where I thought I was safe. My apartment opened onto a grassy common area, which several buildings faced at differing angles, as it was not geometrical. While I was playing on my patio with my one year child, I heard a women yell “help me, somebody help me”. Unfortunately, her voice was faint and the buildings caused a slight echo, so I could not pinpoint the exact building or condo. As I searched the area, the voice abruptly stopped. Was she gagged? Beaten? It was not a prank. I called the police, who just did a cursory look, asked only a few questions, and then left. There was not much I could tell them. I wonder if a women died that day.

This experience taught me that the police are limited in their ability to prevent crimes. Maybe they don’t really care after being hardened by years of police work. Or maybe they cannot do more, frustrated by protocols, reports, superiors, or adverse news.

As I age, I fully understand the need for situational awareness and preparation. Below is a mental exercise or awareness process that we should consider doing every day.

Ask yourself some questions.

Continue reading“Never Think You Are Safe, by A.E.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

8

Here are the latest 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.) Today’s focus is on Silver Bargain Hunting.

 

Precious Metals (Silver Bargain Hunting):

If you are persistent, you can find some silver at bargain prices.  In my experience, the best places to go silver bargain hunting are:

1.) Garage and estate sales. Once in a while you will be more knowledgeable than the seller about the current value of silver or of particular coins.

2.) Gun shows. Look for a table where most of the merchandise is guns, but where there are a few silver coins in their display case, along with the seller’s pistols.  Often, if you have a gun to trade, you can swap it at a favorable rate, for silver, with such a dealer. Or the dealer might be looking to cash out his silver. Employ the classic: “And what’s my price if I buy it all?” gambit.

3.) Bank teller drawers. Ask at your local bank teller if they have any rolls of half dollars. You can find a surprising number of 40% silver half dollars available at face value. (50 cents per coin.) Coin Roll Hunting is time consuming, but usually worth the effort. I once had a kind teller sell me a U.S. Silver Eagle for $1. (Even though they are .999 silver they are still legal tender and marked “One Dollar.” So once in a while someone will deposit one without realizing their full value.) I don’t expect that to ever happen again!

4.) Pawn shops. Bring cash, and go chat up your local pawn broker. Start looking at his or her selection of 1 ounce .999 silver trade dollars. Many times, I’ve been able to buy silver at or near spot.  One good bargaining technique is to ask: “If I buy all of these rolls, including this roll of U.S. Mint Silver Eagles, can I have them all at the same price?”

5.) Coinstar machines. Check the reject bin each time you walk by a Coinstar machine. And be sure to get to know the store clerk who in charge of their Coinstar machine’s regular maintenance. Often times, they will have small bags of reject coins available for sale at face value. Many of these will be foreign coins or bent coins. But there will probably be some silver coins, to make it more than worthwhile!

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – May 01, 2018

1

May 1st is the birthday of the late Joel Rosenberg, a Canadian-born novelist and gun rights advocate (born 1954, died June 2, 2011). He is not to be confused with Joel C. Rosenberg (born 1967), who is another great novelist and the author of The Last Jihad series.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 76 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. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. 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 transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

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, and
  6. 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).

Round 76 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.

Staying Hidden Online, by Z.M.

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We’re being monitored, online. That’s nothing new though. We all know that. In a world that increasingly grows to rely upon technology, and where your individual data points can mean big money for some advertiser somewhere, it should come as no surprise that just about everything that we do online has been recorded and stored on some server somewhere.

I’ve grown quite alarmed over this the past few years, but I have never really known where to even start. I just thought “Incognito” mode on Chrome was enough to hide me from all that was happening. I was wrong. After doing quite a bit of research on the subject over the past few years, I’ve learned quite a bit that is not only beneficial but easy to use as well. Here are just a few of the many tips I’ve found that can help you to retain some level of anonymity while online. This is by no means a comprehensive list. There’s a ton of other things that you can do to protect your information online. However, this should give you a decent place to start.

Facebook

Facebook has gained quite a bit of notoriety of late for the amount of data it collects from each user. Not only does Facebook know what you post, like, and send messages about while using Facebook, but it can often discover more about you based on other sites you visit.

Trackers

Facebook adds trackers that will request information from other sites, even after you’ve already logged out of Facebook. These trackers will find out your geographic location, monitor which sites you visit, and what you click on while on those sites.

Continue reading“Staying Hidden Online, by Z.M.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

3

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 the Glacier Park snowpack, at the Continental Divide.

Region-Wide

The Bard of the Redoubt over at The Charles Carroll Society has started a new YouTube channel. You can subscribe to it here.) He has produced an interesting series of videos covering the situation in South Africa. And his video titled How to Defeat Active Jamming with Existing Equipment may be useful for both those facing farm attacks in South Africa and for preppers on this side of the pond.

Idaho

Owners of Boise homes destroyed by slide settle lawsuits

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Idaho governor hopefuls go on the attack as May 15 primary nears

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Redoubt News Idaho Primary Election Recommendations

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