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”. Flu season is upon us and the saline shortage gets worse!

Saline Shortage

Reader DMC sent in this article on the current saline shortage. This is actually nothing new, but shows the continuation of an existing problem. For the last several years, Saline has been in short supply and rationing has been the norm in the EMS services. With the loss of the Philippine factory that supplied a significant amount of saline, things have only gotten worse. Companies are trying to source from other places around the world, but supply just can’t keep up. With flu season upon us, this may get serious.

Hepatitis A Update

The Hepatitis A outbreak that started in San Diego has now spread to Utah. The outbreak started with the homeless in San Diego, but has reached a state where it is being spread to other people as well. The outbreak followed some infected homeless to Salt Lake City and now Two workers who have tested positive have potentially exposed thousands of people to the disease. So far 152 cases have been reported with no deaths. Thanks to P.S. for the link.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“In my studies as an attorney and as a United States Senator, I have constantly been amazed by the indifference or even hostility shown the Second Amendment by courts, legislatures, and commentators. James Madison would be startled to hear that his recognition of a right to keep and bear arms, which passed the House by a voice vote without objection and hardly a debate, has since been construed in but a single, and most ambiguous Supreme Court decision, whereas his proposals for freedom of religion, which he made reluctantly out of fear that they would be rejected or narrowed beyond use, and those for freedom of assembly, which passed only after a lengthy and bitter debate, are the subject of scores of detailed and favorable decisions. Thomas Jefferson, who kept a veritable armory of pistols, rifles and shotguns at Monticello, and advised his nephew to forsake other sports in favor of hunting, would be astounded to hear supposed civil libertarians claim firearm ownership should be restricted. Samuel Adams, a handgun owner who pressed for an amendment stating that the “Constitution shall never be construed . . . to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms,” would be shocked to hear that his native state today imposes a year’s sentence, without probation or parole, for carrying a firearm without a police permit.” – Senator Orrin G. Hatch

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – January 10, 2018

January 10th, 1776 is the day that North Carolina Governor, Josiah Martin issued a proclamation calling on the king’s loyal subjects to raise an armed force to combat the “rebels”. This ultimately led to Colonel Donald McLeod leading the men on an assault on the Patriot forces that ended with fifty of his men dead and 880 captured. The defenders lost only two of their number.

Also on this day in 1976 the song “Convoy” by C.W. McCall was the #1 song on the U.S. pop charts.

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A Realistic Assessment of Epidemic Disease After TEOTWAWKI- Part 2, by Dr. DMC

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As we learned yesterday, malaria, like so many other important epidemic illnesses, is a disease of poverty. The poverty we refer to here implies poor housing, poor nutrition, unsanitary and crowded living conditions, and most important, bad water. Remember that the mosquitoes that spread malaria are still around. If America’s high standard of living is destroyed, people will be exposed to the mosquito again, and with time, the parasite will find its way back into the U.S. Malaria is not the only disease to consider either. We have already looked at upper respiratory infections, including influenza (flu), and measles. Today, we will continue examining other threats and how we can minimize them after TEOTWAWKI.

Diarrhea

Bad water, reduced immunity and inadequate sanitation are conditions that inevitably lead to diarrhea epidemics. In a disaster situation, those epidemics are dangerously deadly. Think about the diarrhea outbreaks on the spotless cruise ships that one sees so often in the news. And those occur where sanitation is excellent, where toilets flush and people wash their hands! After disasters, the situation is much worse.

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Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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 rare postage stamps.

Precious Metals:

First off, there is this, over at the great Alt-Market site: What The Falling Dollar Means For Gold Prices In 2018

Stock Markets:

Equity Euphoria Grips the Entire World. JWR’s Comments: Don’t expect to make any money by jumping in to the markets while they are in the current state of frenzy. This is the stage where you should take your profits and exit gracefully.  It is better to be a year too early than a day too late.

Commodities:

Trump Proposes Most Aggressive Offshore Drilling Plan Ever

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JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is a how-to video on how to make hatchet sheaths.

Books:

I’ve noticed this book on the bookshelves when visiting several friends and relatives, so it is probably not a coincidence: 100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative’s Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation

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Winter in the Wilderness: A Field Guide to Primitive Survival Skills

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Primitive Bread: Remembering the Old Ways

 

Movies:

Dunkirk. Speaking of which, this little segment was fascinating: The sound illusion that makes Dunkirk so intense

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Man, Myth,Legend: Milius.  A fine documentary on one of America’s greatest screenwriters. I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Milius a few years ago, at the Safari Club International (SCI) convention in Las Vegas. This was just a few years after his stroke, so his speech was halting. Available for free streaming to those with Amazon Prime.

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Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – January 09, 2018

On this day in 1776, writer Thomas Paine published his pamphlet “Common Sense,” setting forth his arguments in favor of American independence. Although little used today, pamphlets were an important medium for the spread of ideas in the 16th through 19th centuries.

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We are coming up on the end of Round 74 of the SurvivalBlog writing contest and we still have quite a few openings for submissions. If you have ever looked at the prize list and thought “I sure would like that!” now is is your opportunity. Send it in to us via email .

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A Realistic Assessment of Epidemic Disease After TEOTWAWKI- Part 1, by Dr. DMC

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Malaria

In 1850, malaria occurred throughout the entire region of what is now the lower 48 states, with the exception of some of the higher altitudes of the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. It sickened and killed thousands of the pioneers moving westward, even though the type of malaria most common in the country tended not to be the most fatal form of the disease. Today, malaria is so uncommon that American physicians often fail to recognize the rare cases seen in travelers or immigrants.

Cases are rare, and deaths are even rarer. Perhaps surprisingly, the mosquitoes that can spread the disease are still here in very large numbers. So, why did this disease disappear from the U.S.? The answer to this question is very important to anyone interested in preparing for a time when modern medicine and public health would not be available. It demonstrates that unexpected diseases will provide more danger to survivors than will all the roving gangs and escaped prisoners combined.

Why Malaria Not in U.S. Anymore

One might guess that the reason malaria is not here anymore is because we cured all of the cases with drugs and killed a whole lot of mosquitoes with insecticides, eventually eliminating the parasite that causes the disease. These actions obviously played some role in the elimination of the disease, but they really were relatively minor factors. After WWII, two very powerful tools for fighting malaria became available to fight malaria: DDT and the anti-malaria drug chloroquine. They were both inexpensive and very effective, so health workers throughout the country started using them extensively to fight the disease.

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SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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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 Montana Tactical.

Region-Wide

The Redoubt series at The Sandpoint Reader tabloid newspaper concluded on this upbeat note: The American Redoubt Series: Why the Redoubt? Some insights into the motivation for strategic relocation. This was a “reader written” piece that is quite pro-American Redoubt movement.

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Fractured West: In Oregon and elsewhere, rural residents increasingly balk at Democrats’ progressive governance.

Idaho

Anyone who has not yet visited north Idaho may wonder why it is considered so appealing.  This video will show you why: North Idaho Wilderness Beauty

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Here is a Vice News video segment about Central Idaho’s new Dark Sky Reserve: The Darkest Place In America. (Scroll forward to 18:15, for that report.)

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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”. Big new this week on the Bundy trial and an example of the stupidity of homeowners associations.

Bundy Trial

Judge Navarro, in a fit of sanity (or is that concern over her position due to her past actions) declared the the case dismissed with prejudice. For those who haven’t had dealings with the courts before, that basically means that the case is dismissed and can’t be brought up again on those specific charges. The Bundy’s now get to go home and pretend that it never happened despite the two years they spent locked up in jail.

I’m not suggesting that the Bundy’s are innocent of all charges, but the feds (law enforcement, prosecution and judge) stepped so far out of bounds, this case needed to be dismissed in this manner. What is missing is the declaration of prosecution against all those who propagated this evil, abortive mess. I’m still wondering how LaVoy Finicum (or at least his family) gets justice out of this too. Thanks to D.S. for the link.

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Remington TAC-14 Shotgun, by Pat Cascio

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By request, from our own Jim Rawles, we are taking a close look at the Remington TAC-14 shotgun.

Unique in Barrel Length

Something a little unique about the Remington TAC-14 shotgun is the barrel length of only 14 inches. Normally, this would be considered an NFA firearm and you’d have to jump through all the red tape and hoops in order to own one. However, Remington cleverly got around this in a number of ways. First of all, there is the overall length of 26.3-inches. Secondly, the very unique Raptor Pistol Grip gives the TAC-14 the much needed few more inches so this isn’t considered a “sawed-off shotgun” that we’ve all heard about.

Shotgun For Home Defense

I used to advocate a short barrel (18 inch) shotgun as the ultimate in home defense, and that is still true, in a few cases, but it’s not the best choice. When I was teaching SWAT techniques to small police departments, they all had “riot shotguns”. And when trying to maneuver through narrow hallways in a house or a business, the shotgun proved cumbersome and hard to work with. It was not quite what you want when a threat is around every corner or in every room. Next time, try taking your home-defense shotgun through your house and walking through narrow hallways or small rooms. See just how fast you can bring the shotgun up and ready to fire, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

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