The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“They treat me like a fox, a cunning fellow (Schlaukopf) of the first rank. But the truth is that with a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and when I have to deal with a pirate, I try to be a pirate and a half.” – Otto Furst von Bismark, speaking with Gyula Andrássy in Salzburg on September 18, 1877. As quoted in Disraeli, Gladstone, and the Eastern Question. A Study in Diplomacy and Party Politics (1935) by Robert William Seton-Watson, p. 224

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – April 10, 2018

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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.

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You can now follow SurvivalBlog with Bloglovin

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 75 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 75 ends on March 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.

How to Prepare When You’re The Only One- Part 1, by Patriotman

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I think this article will resonate with many of the SurvivalBlog readership, because I suspect that many of us are in a similar situation of being the only one preparing. While some of you may be lucky to have complete buy-in and participation with prepping from your family or survival group, many others, like myself, may find that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. Before I speak about my experience with this issue and the steps I have taken to attempt to mitigate this, let me provide some background on myself as well as what the composition of the group looks like. The group is divided into two sections– family and fireteam. Each one of these groups is proving to have their own frustrations and issues with them. Just as a disclaimer, I am not affiliated with any sites or individuals mentioned in this article.

My Background

I am male and in my mid-20s living in a Mid-Atlantic occupied state, and I have a Masters of Science degree. I have been preparing since 2012 when I first read Mr. Rawles’ book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It. I unfortunately still live at home while I bank money to simultaneously pay off some of my loans, save money for moving out (hopefully within the year), and purchase some preparedness supplies. I have set myself an absolute baseline of readiness that I am trying to achieve and will soon hit that baseline. This baseline is the bare minimum that I want to have in hand should a disaster occur. I am also working on practical skills as well and not just acquiring “stuff” – weapons manipulations and individual tactics, medical skills, fitness, and communications.

My beautiful girlfriend of nearly seven years is 100% bought into the concept of preparedness. She has become my main companion in the pursuit of these skills, which is such a blessing. The only downside is that the relationship is long distance at the moment, but that will hopefully change within the year. And if you are wondering, yes, it stinks, but it is worth it.

Continue reading“How to Prepare When You’re The Only One- Part 1, by Patriotman”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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 upcoming Oregon gun restrictions ballot initiative. (See the Oregon section.)

Idaho

Over at Redoubt News there is this piece from an Idaho legislator: End of Session Review, by Representative Christy Zito

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The 25th North Idaho Veterans Stand Down is scheduled for May 12, 2018, at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, in Coeur d’ Alene.

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18 months after Idaho’s Pioneer Fire, less than 10 percent of forest being salvage logged

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

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 “HJL”. You need to read the article today on pests and crops. The practice of monoculture crops is standard in the agriculture industry and it is hazardous.

Nightmare Bugs

According to this article sent in by reader G.P., the CDC has collected almost 6,000 different varieties of microbes that are highly resistant to antibiotics from all 50 states. Of those that they collected, over 200 had evolved to carry a rare and formidable resistance gene. These are bugs that are very difficult to treat or can’t be treated at all. Of note is that these “super bugs” generally appear in hospital settings so containment is usually easier than if they were in the wild. Since the CDC is tasked with managing such possible outbreaks, they are trying to be aggressive in their approach. This usually means that the potential infection response will be escalated far earlier than it normally would. To you, this means that as easy as bacteria have been to treat in the past, there may not always be a treatment available.

Funding Child Homicide

H.L. sent in this article showing where the government in the UK is actually funding textbooks that teach and glorify children as martyrs. One textbook teaches “Giving one’s life, sacrifice, fight, jihad and struggle are the most important meanings of life.” While the government of Britain, like it’s counterparts in the U.S., fails to teach the basics in literacy and numeracy, the U.K also has no qualms about pumping millions into the Palestinian Authority to make sure that Palestinian children think that a career in violence and martyrdom is a career worth pursuing.

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

CRKT Septimo Folder, by Pat Cascio

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Under review today is the very unique Septimo folder by Green Beret, Jeremy Valdez. This one is more than a little unique in design and intended purpose!

My First Knife

I’m not exactly sure when I was given my first knife, but it would have been when I was about five or six years old. It was a two part set containing a Bowie-type fixed blade knife and a small hatchet. I longed for this set. And when my grandmother and grandfather who raised me had enough S&H green stamps (anyone remember those?), my grandfather went to the redemption center and got me that set. Needless to say, to a small boy, that knife and hatchet set would have allowed me to go to war, explore the wilderness, or survive anything. Never mind the fact that neither the knife or hatchet would cut warm butter; they were mine!

I suppose today, if you gave a five or six year old child a knife and hatchet set, someone would be sure to call children and family services on your parents and your kids would probably be placed in a foster home, because they’d think your parents were teaching you how to kill people. My, my, my how the times have changed and not for the better. It’s too bad!

Continue reading“CRKT Septimo Folder, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Barbecued Spareribs, by F.B.

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Ingredients:

  • 4 to 5 lbs spareribs, cut into two-rib pieces
  • 1/2 cups ketchup
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup bottled steak sauce
  • 2 tbs vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp hickory smoke salt
  • 1 tsp instant minced onion

Directions:

  1. Place spareribs on a rack in a baking pan.
  2. Brown in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.
  3. Turn and brown on the other side for 10 or 15 minutes.
  4. Drain the fat and put ribs in a pot.
  5. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the rigs.
  6. Cover and cook on low until done.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 investing in High Standard pistols. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.)

Stocks:

Last Friday’s 572-point sell-off in the Dow made headlines. With higher interest rates ahead, this is probably not anywhere near the bottom.

Economy & Finance:

Reading a headline like this is troubling: Subprime Mortgages Among Fastest Growing Investments for US Banks

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The Irish Times reports: China pledges to fight ‘unilateral’ US trade tariffs ‘at any cost’.  Of course what is not mentioned is that the tariffs didn’t come without provocation. Trump Administration officials have alleged that Chinese trade practices and policies have forced U.S. companies to transfer technology in order to to compete in the mainland China market. They have also pointed out that American intellectual property and patent rights have been repeatedly trampled.

By the way, I have personally been the victim of this:: There have now been more fake Chinese copies of the Rawles XL Voyager knife sold in the U.S. than there have genuine ones produced by Cold Steel. What Cold Steel produced was a genuine Limited Production knife. But what the Chinese are producing is an unlimited glut of cheap shanzai copies, with my signature on them!  The Chinese government has done almost nothing to stop the flood of fake merchandise pouring out of their factories. The rapidity with which these counterfeits are produced is amazing.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The First Question is Always Jurisdiction

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Earlier this month, I posted an article about the ATF’s recently-opened comment period on the planned Federal ban on bumpfire stocks. In it, I recommended that SurvivalBlog readers post their comments with the ATF, and I suggested several major areas that should be individually addressed:

    • Constitutional issues (Under the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 14th Amendments!)
    • Imprecise Terminology
    • Agency Over-Reach (creating new legal definitions, bypassing congress)
    • Vague Wording
    • Technical and Historical Inaccuracies

These were all sound recommendations. However, SurvivalBlog Reader Richard T. reminded me that I had left out a fundamental law issue in my list of objections, namely: Jurisdiction. I suggest that folks study this issue because the implications go far beyond the attempted restriction of plastic rifle stocks.  Jurisdictional challenges are apropos in any case where various levels of government have over-stepped their bounds.

Proviso: Keep in mind that I am not a Juris Doctor nor an attorney, and hence I do not give legal advice. So the following is based on my research as a layman that therefore purely informational. If you have legal questions, then consult an attorney.

When most people have interactions with the law, they usually fail to ask the key preliminary question: Does this law apply to me, and where I live? That is, does the agency or court have the proper jurisdiction to establish their nexus to me and my affairs?

Continue reading“The First Question is Always Jurisdiction”

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 “HJL”.

It Started with a Potluck

Community is an inextricable part of prepping. As the famous book title states, “No man is an Island”. To attempt to go it alone is a guarantee of extremely hard times when the going gets tough and you may live right on the edge of survival. Just ask the Lykov family how that goes. Patrice Lewis, of the Rural Revolution blog has an interesting article how her community of preppers got started. When hard times come (and they will, even if only for a short time), these neighbors know who to turn to. And it all started with a potluck meal.

War, Famine & Disease

The Patriot Nurse has a good video on those hard times that will eventually hit. War, famine and disease have been with us for thousands of years and will continue to be part of human history, no matter how much the left claims that it will eventually be eradicated. In this video, Patriot Nurse discusses some of those conditions that result in those things and show how they are typically tied together. History shows that these are things that need to be planned for by the average family. Those that don’t plan will suffer the most. Thanks to reader T.J. for the link.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” – Acts 10:34-35 (KJV)