Choose Your Friends Wisely, by Hollyberry

Now, more than ever, it is important to have a good network of friends and family you can rely on in a time of crisis. That crisis may be a health issue that only affects your immediate family and friends or a natural or man-made disaster that is encompassing a large portion of the community. The saying goes that you can pick your nose or pick your friends but you can’t pick your family. Our own immediate family members are over 500 miles away and elderly, and have some minor health issues. They would do their best to support us in a crisis but it would be from a distance. We couldn’t pick better family members than Mom and Bob and would do anything for them. Choose wisely who you allow into your life and family.

Choosing good friends is critical. Let me tell you what happened in our neck of the woods to several people we know. A very charismatic man moved into the next town, about 12 years ago. He began to gather folks by merely chatting with anyone in line at the grocery store, hardware store or post office. He would then start complaining about current affairs and government and see what reaction he got. If it was favorable to his views, then the conversation continued and an invite to discuss solutions further was offered.Continue reading“Choose Your Friends Wisely, by Hollyberry”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

Early in the week, I put the snow tires on our pickup. Time will tell if this El Niño winter will be snowy, or just rainy in our part of the Redoubt region.

Here in the Redoubt rifle deer and elk hunting seasons have either recently opened, or will soon open.  Since all of our freezers are presently full, I may not even get tags this year.

Now, Lily’s report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions:

How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;

Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;

I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,

Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.

Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.

We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.

Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.

Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.

For thy servant David’s sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.

The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.

If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.

For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.

 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.

His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.” – Psalm 132 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 27, 2023

On October 27, 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an island country lying within the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea, achieved its independence.

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October 27th, 1858 was the birthday of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. (He died January 6, 1919.)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 ends on November 30th, 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 Find a Trustworthy Doctor – Part 2, by C.A.J.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Rule #3: Find a doctor who practices moral not just ethical medicine. By ethical medicine, I mean what is socially acceptable from your community, insurance companies, and government. Moral medicine is based on a sense of righteousness and wrong. For example, if a doctor wants prenatal genetic testing to check for disorders in your unborn child, that usually is “code” for I want to kill your baby if it is a Down Syndrome person. Today, over 90% of Down Syndrome babies are “ethically” aborted in the United States. Or how about a surgeon who wants to surgically remove the external genitalia of a 5-year-old boy who says he desires to be a girl? Or how about a gynecologist who performs an abortion on a 11-year-old girl from another state after being allegedly raped by an illegal alien and refuses to report it to law enforcement and child protective services? Or how about a doctor who goes out of his way to call child protective services to remove a child from the home because the doctor refuses to accommodate the child’s parents’ religious request to transfuse blood from a “non-vaxxed” donor? (The child died from blood clots after the transfusion.) How about a gynecologist who performs “medically necessary” hysterectomies on patients from around the United States for insurance payment while knowingly referring the patients to the next plastic surgeon elsewhere for gender-reassigning surgery? All of these examples have happened with the blessings of International, National, and State medical associations, Colleges, Boards, and Societies as well as various “Health” Insurance Companies, Medicare, and Medicaid, similar national healthcare institutions, hospitals, and medical “ethics” committees.Continue reading“How To Find a Trustworthy Doctor – Part 2, by C.A.J.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we examine the recent rise in the value of Bitcoin, in Dollar terms. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.)

Precious Metals:

Over at Gold-Eagle.com: What Happens to Gold When Bonds Are No Longer a Safe Haven?

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A Kitco video: Preparing for the next recession with gold and silver.

Economy & Finance:

From Bankrate: Mortgage rate forecast October 2023: Higher for longer.

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Reported on October 19th: Powell says inflation is still too high and lower economic growth is likely needed to bring it down.

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A “Big Picture” accounting tidbit: As of August for the year-to-date, national defense spending was $659 Billion USD, but the interest payments on the national debt were nearly as large: $639 Billion USD.

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Target Is Collapsing Faster Than You Think As Mass Store Closings Begin.

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Stocks Plunge, Bonds Bust Some More.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”  –  James Madison, from a 1795 letter, as quoted in: The Papers and Messages of the Presidents Vol 2 section II; The Madison Years.

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 26, 2023

The sci-fi movie The Terminator was released in the United States on October 26, 1984. It was hugely successful. It made actor Arnold Schwarzenegger a star and established director James Cameron as a bankable filmmaker.

This is the birthday of Henry Deringer (October 26, 1786 – February 28, 1868) was an American gunsmith. He is best known for inventing and giving his name to the very compact Deringer pistol.

Edward Wilson Very (born October 26, 1847, died March 1, 1910) was an American naval officer who adopted and popularized a single-shot breech-loading flare pistol that fired flares that bears his name.

October 26th is the anniversary of the death of American-born RLI Trooper Joseph Patrick Byrne, in Rhodesia, in 1978.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 ends on November 30th, 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 Find a Trustworthy Doctor – Part 1, by C.A.J.

I’ll begin with a quote:

“The first step is to give up the illusion that the primary purpose of modern medical research is to improve Americans’ health most effectively and efficiently. In our opinion, the primary purpose of commercially funded clinical research is to maximize financial return on investment, not health.” – John Abramson, M.D., Harvard Medical School

The last few years have been revealing to many people about the world in which we live. For those of us who study (not just read) the Scriptures as well as others, the world appears to be in a spiritual as well as a physical warfare. Many have written about the dimensions of warfare, and I will not pretend to know much about them other than it seems clear that there are many dimensions of war with the passage of time. Furthermore, there are many fronts to a war, and if I may draw an analogy, I wish to offer a paradigm on healthcare as a war front.

In my opinion, we are witnessing the death of true medicine in the social transformation of American medicine. Before defending my opinion, I presuppose that most of the readership of SurvivalBlog hold to one of two primary world views. though there are many others. Specifically, these are Humanism and Theism, particularly the view that YHWH of the Scriptures designed and created everything including humans and the multiple systems in which we find ourselves. Humanism, on the other hand, rejects the idea of God or the supernatural, and holds to the materialistic, progressive evolution for its basis of genesis. Its followers ultimately tend to absolutize humankind either as self-worship or collective man, as in the form of government.Continue reading“How To Find a Trustworthy Doctor – Part 1, by C.A.J.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at tactical evasion tactics.

How to Evade a Professional Military (Tracking, Countertracking)

Reader C.B. suggested a new video from Garand Thumb: How to Evade A Professional Military (Tracking, Countertracking). Here is his description:

“In today’s video, we tackle the life-and-death strategies of combat evasion. When the stakes are this high, your ability to avoid confrontation can be the difference between life and death. Join us on a journey into the heart of darkness, where we explore the grim reality of combat situations and the techniques that can save lives.“

Gulf Stream Current Could Collapse in 2025

Over at LiveScience: Gulf Stream current could collapse in 2025, plunging Earth into climate chaos: ‘We were actually bewildered’.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?” – J. B. Priestley

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 25, 2023

40 years ago today, the U.S. military, under President Ronald Reagan, invaded the tiny island country of Grenada.

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On this day in 1415, the English army, led by Henry V, scored a decisive victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years’ War, paving the way for further English conquests and successes.

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This is the birthday of explorer and pilot Admiral Richard Byrd (1888–1957). His autobiography titled Alone is a must-read.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 ends on November 30th, 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.

12 Basic Actions To Make It Through the First 12 Weeks of TEOTWAWKI – Part 2, by Michael X.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Heat

We have a super-efficient wood stove in our basement that can heat our entire cabin. We can vent heat into various parts of the house. We have two propane fireplaces that do not use any electricity. I put all these in when we built the cabin as our electricity as always spotty and my belief is that electricity is going to be a problem in almost every society fail scenario.

I have a wood lot and prepare enough wood to stay warm all winter. I have several chain saws and can split small wood by hand. For larger pieces I borrow from a good friend who lives nearby. I know that this it is not a long term solution at this time.

Our stovetop is propane so it can cook our preserved food as well as provide some heat on a limited basis. I have backup camp stoves and LP gas to extend the use of indoor cooking. My grill also can take some of the load. And I can cook on the wood stove if necessary.

Wood heat will be the most likely answer for heating, but procuring wood for wood heat for the long term, in northern Wisconsin, will be a hard life.

Electricity

Electricity will eventually stop, in almost every major scenario. As discussed in another article in December 2023, our power was out for a few days last winter. I had redundant generators, and eventually got one to work well. However, it is not practical to have to run a generator 24/7, and gas will eventually be gone or go stale, so it cannot be a long-term solution to keeping modern processes going.

After the outage I bought a solar-chargeable portable power station. We use it to keep a CPAP going. I should have purchased a larger one, but I wanted to “test drive” one before getting too deep into it. So far I have been very impressed. I may buy another. It can power our radios and charge other key electrical items we need on a limited basis. I have a few portable solar chargers to keep the phones/radios going for use in emergencies and to get the news, such as it is.

To back up day-to-day activities that currently use electricity, I try to keep as many manual, non-electric hand tools as possible for backup.

Use electricity until you can’t. Plan on it going out. Make sure you can function without it.Continue reading“12 Basic Actions To Make It Through the First 12 Weeks of TEOTWAWKI – Part 2, by Michael X.”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Remote Work Can Thrive in Remote Places.  JWR’s Comment: It is interesting seeing that article posted at a website where the stock answers to nearly every question are either: “More government”, or “We should create a [taxpayer-funded] program to…”

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Over at WND: Tesla won’t start after driving in rain, owner speechless when stuck with $21,000 bill.

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Video from Mark Dice: We’re Being ManipuIated in Ways Most People Can’t Even Imagine!   JWR’s Comments: Watch this, and you’ll understand one of the reasons why we discontinued the Reader Comments on posts at SurvivalBlog. (Yes, we DID detect comments being posted by sockpuppets.)

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Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would be if they were stationed in Texas. We would not stand for it here, but we have had a globe-straddling empire and a very intrusive foreign policy for decades that incites a lot of hatred and resentment toward us.” – Ron Paul