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”. Today’s focus is on the fall of America.

Fall of America

Kalifornia has often led the way in polices across America. Now, taxpayers in California will be forced to pay bullies on college campuses who will force their agenda on classmates guilty of “thought crimes”. Between 8 and 10 Social Justice Activists (SJAs) will walk around campus. They will indoctrinate whomever they come across of the perils of whiteness, patriarchy, and heteronormativity. You might think that paying students to incite racism, sexism, and heterophobia in the name of social justice is counterproductive and satire. But it’s apparently happening. Thanks to H.L. for the link.

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Rhode Island schools who participate in the “1-1” programs, where each student is issued a laptop, have a policy of encouraging the students to use the electronics for more than just schoolwork. Some even go so far as to encourage the parents of students to use the computers as well.  The schools insist that they have the right to monitor the computers. They routinely search the laptops for information. Some have been known to install certificates allowing man-in-the-middle interceptions of private sessions.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” – Romans 13:1-2 (KJV)

The Good-Enough Cheapskate Garden, by J.D.

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Easiest, Cheapest, and Quickest Gardening Option

You have some garden options that include a “good-enough cheapskate garden”. You could buy a bunch of stuff, get special ground covering, and mark it every two inches. Then you could buy poles, and notch then five feet up, and then prepare your soil by double digging. (Make sure to plant at the setting sun, and on and on.) Even if I had the time, money, strength, and patience for all the instructions I have read over the years, I’m just rebel enough to try the easiest, cheapest, and quickest way to get it in the ground and get it growing.

My Experience

I’ve spent years gardening in hot sunny areas, super cold snowy locations, and now somewhere in the middle. It is possible to grow in any of these locales with a minimum of work and money.

I know there are some people who are genuinely unable to garden due to limitations. And I am truly sorry for that and know a little of how that feels. I had my time recently where I thought that’s the way it was to be for me too. And my husband has been that way for many years. I am not writing this to tell those folks that they should somehow be doing what I’m doing. But my hope is they will find something in what I write that will help them too. Many of my easy methods were discovered while I was going through chemo and recovering from lung surgery.

If you like spending all your time pampering your plants, you may want to look away. If you like to garden but can’t or don’t want to make it your life’s work, maybe I can help a little. I’ve gardened while working full time, with little kids, with a family run business, and lately while going through a few years of chemotherapy and surgery for cancers. There have been times where it was sink or swim for the plants. Yet they’ve always come through. But we all know we can’t make anything grow on our own. I can put a seed in the ground and water it, but I can’t make it grow. God is ultimately the Giver of Life, and He has certainly blessed my garden.

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Editors’ Prepping Progress

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As preppers work to make progress to achieve prepping goals, we took some actions this week too. The SurvivalBlog editors made plans earlier in the week and now reflect upon these. At this time of year, gardening is at the top of our lists. Below, the editors share what we each accomplished. Please write to us in the comments and tell us what you did this week to get your preps in place and to be ready. Today’s highlight is combating some raspberry cane fungus.

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,
Some recent rain was great for our pastures, orchard, and gardens, but it drove us indoors.

In The Garden – Cane Fungus!

Lily weeded the garden again.  Nearly everything is growing nicely. However, she had recently noticed that her red and black raspberry canes looked liked they had taken a very serious beating from our hard winter.  Their bark was peeling and, some had died, while others had very poor growth of their leaves.  The more she looked at them, the more she realized that they must have a disease. So she looked up raspberry cane diseases and discovered that they really were not suffering from our severe winter, but rather from a cane fungus infection caused by wet and humid conditions from our very wet summer last year and also, probably from running the wave sprinkler on them too often during the wrong times of the day.  Bummer!

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Letter Re: USMC Mountain Survival Course

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Hugh,

I read the [multi-part] article and had to tell you I thought it was pretty good. I talked to a few of the guys up there, and it does indeed look like the course is going to be canceled. It went through some cool changes after E.T.’s course and the ones to follow. It’s too bad. It was good education. I was really impressed with how much he remembered. I sent it to the other guys who were there at the time too. Hope all is well for him now. He’s got some good stuff going. – Jerry

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”. Today’s focus is on liberal-progressive terrorism.

Liberal Terrorism

Reader K. sent in this YouTube video of a confrontation with a woman calling for the death of Alex Jones. She states “Her attitude is scary. She is supposed to be a teacher but I’m not sure how that was determined. I have no respect for the boyfriend/husband that would tolerate this woman’s views. I think people need to see this video so they can make a calculation as to what we are up against.” There is certainly a double standard that the liberal progressives hold.

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A Union County Democrat has called for Republicans to be hunted. James Devine posted several messages on Facebook following the DC shooting. Liberals are quick to call “hate speech” on anyone that disagrees with them, but this fits that category like no other.

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A truck flying a “Make America Great Again” flag was shot at in Indiana. Apparently a driver who didn’t like the message pulled up next to the pickup on the freeway, pulled a hand gun and shot several times. Thankfully, no one was injured, but no arrests have been made yet. Thanks to reader T.P. for the link.

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Editors’ Quote of the Day

“And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.” – Numbers 14:11-12 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – June 16, 2017

Today is the birthday of John Enoch Powell (born 1912, died 8 February 1998). He was one of the very few military men to rise from enlisted Private to Brigadier General. Similarly, in the U.S. military, Nathan Bedford Forrest enlisted as a Private and advanced to the rank of Lieutenant General of the Confederate Army during the U.S. Civil War. (His postwar career was, ahem, less distinguished.) Chesty Puller did the same in the U.S. Marine Corps. Likewise, U.S. Army General Tommy Franks began his Army career as a Private in 1965 and went on to eventually wear four stars, as did Admiral Jeremy Michael Borda, advancing from USN E-1 to USN O-10 (from Seaman to Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations). There have been a few such examples but not very many. (Special thanks to SurvivalBlog reader George S. for mentioning this birth date and the similarity in the service of Forrest, Franks, and Borda.)

Guest Article: The Practical Application of Tactical Gear, Load and Weight Considerations- Part 2, by Max

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The intent of this continued post is to tie in the related, practical application concepts of tactical gear, fitness, teamwork, logistics, and tactical loading, in order to present a realistic and logical way to approach the subject. There are a number of related factors at play here. Part 1 covered the mission, logistics, tactical load, physical conditioning, transport, and ballistic plates along with a note urging people to avoid heavy steel plates.

Team

In order to be able to conduct any sort of patrolling/security operation, you are going to need a team. This means numbers of trained personnel. You cannot have that QRF if you do not have the trained bodies to man the operations center and the QRF team, while also running a security rotation on your home base. Thus, it goes without saying that you need trained people, in sufficient numbers, to provide an effective tactical team.

Combat Load

So what do you carry? The point is that you have to balance the logistics of what you carry on your body with what you can effectively maneuver around in. Thus, physical condition and strength must increase, while the load must come down to something that you can tactically maneuver in. You have to be able to be comfortable wearing this gear. Particularly if a collapse goes on for a time and complacency starts to rear its head, you have to have a practical plan that allows you to wear some gear. You also must have it ready and comfortable for long periods of time.

Continue reading“Guest Article: The Practical Application of Tactical Gear, Load and Weight Considerations- Part 2, by Max”

Letter: Debt After SHTF

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Hugh,

I’m looking for some justification of some prepper advice I’ve seen. More than a few articles recommend getting out of debt now before SHTF. I say, “Why?”. In the event of TEOTWAWKI the banks will be shut down anyway. Who’s going to process the repo paperwork? Who’s going to come enforce the repo? The local Sheriff is going to have more important things on his plate. That is assuming that he’s even still performing the duties of LEO. On top of that, I’d be willing to bet that when things started to get “back to normal” past debts will be forgiven in the interest of rebuilding the basic organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise. Just some thoughts… – D

HJL’s Reply:

You shouldn’t need any more advice than “It’s the right thing to do”. Getting out of debt should be your goal no matter what. Remember the debtor is basically a slave to the banker. It is the bankers who are pulling the strings on the world economies today. Do you really think that they’ll let anyone off the hook? The standard thinking in the case of hyperinflation is that your debt gets gradually smaller. But history doesn’t bear that out. TPTB have a tendency to trash the current hyperinflated currency, introduce a new currency, and then re-evaluate all debt in the new currency, even if it’s just as simple as dropping a zero from the currency.

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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 a likely burst of the global debt bubble in the near future.

Precious Metals:

First off, here is some useful commentary from Peter Hug: Is $1,300 Gold a Viable Target?

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Also at Kitco: Fed Increases; Dollar Rises, Gold Swoons


Commodities Economics:

Next, over at OilPrice.com, we read: Tillerson Seeks To Turn Oil Tap Off For North Korea


Forex:

On to the foreign exchange (Forex) news, Vladimir Ribakov offers: Weekly Forex Market Review 11 to 16 of June 2017

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Editors’ Quote Of The Day

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“By government giveaway programs, individuals are often hurt far more than they are helped. The recipients of these programs become dependent on the government and their dignity is destroyed. Is it compassionate to enslave more and more people by making them a part of the government dependency cycle? I think compassion should be measured by how many people no longer need it. Helping people to become self-sufficient is much more compassionate than drugging them with the narcotic of welfare.” – Rush Limbaugh

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – June 15, 2017

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Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John put his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter” on this day in 1215 AD. This document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation’s laws. Although it was more a reactionary than a progressive document, the Magna Carta was seen as a cornerstone in the development of democratic England by later generations.

Guest Article: The Practical Application of Tactical Gear, Load and Weight Considerations- Part 1, by Max

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The intent of this post is to tie in the related, practical application concepts of tactical gear, fitness, teamwork, logistics, and tactical loading, in order to present a realistic and logical way to approach the subject. There are a number of related factors at play here.

Mission

We often utilize the military terminology of “METT-TC” in order to analyze our mission and thus apply it to the gear that we may carry. Factors such as weather, duration, and the specific mission that you are conducting play into considerations of what to carry. We must be realistic in what we plan and train for now, and thus pack for. Base it around what we think we realistically might be doing in a collapse situation. I put it to you that most people will be engaged in local defense and security patrolling. They may also deal with presence/ground domination activity (GDA). People will be patrolling in and around their homestead and perhaps local community. They will thus not be engaging in multi-day ruck-missions out into the boondocks. This has relevance as we examine the other factors.

Logistics

However much you pack, you will ultimately need a resupply. Many people with a “prepper” mindset want to pack too much “just in case” they need it. I would advise a different approach. I recommend you plan for that resupply and set up a logistics chain. If it allows you the ability to maneuver under fire, it would be better to have to temporarily make do without something than carry a huge load. Thus, you could consider something along the lines of planning to utilize existing vehicles. Trucks, ATVs/UTVs, and even perhaps horses or mules can support any mission that you plan that you suspect will go beyond one day’s rations. This would be one first line ammunition scale (i.e. what is realistically carried on the person as part of a deployed load-out).

Continue reading“Guest Article: The Practical Application of Tactical Gear, Load and Weight Considerations- Part 1, by Max”