Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 20, 2019

Fifty years ago today, on July 20th, 1969, At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, spoke these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon. Despite the Apollo 1 tragedy which took three lives, the lengthy Apollo moon mission series was an overall success. In all, there were six moon landings. Some of the later missions incorporated electric lunar rovers–such as Apollo 17, pictured.

On the same day as the Apollo 11 landing, 16 American servicemen died in Vietnam and Laos–mostly in combat. In the war, 40,934 died in action, but 9,107 died in various accidents. A side note: Navy Lieutenant Stanley Kutz Smiley, flying an A-4F Skyhawk from the deck of USS Oriskany, was shot down over Laos on July 20th, 1969. There is still some debate as to whether he died that day, or later as a POW.)

July of 1969 was near the peak of the ground combat, in Vietnam.

Today is also the 82nd birthday of novelist Cormac McCarthy (born, 1933.) He is the author of the survivalist novel The Road, which later became a popular movie with the same title.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. It was authored by Dan Vale. Preppers who have a special interest in physical fitness might want to view his Amazon author page.

The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 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. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  3. 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,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  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.

Round 83 ends on July 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.




22 Comments

  1. Two great moments for the United States. The moon landing and buying SE Asia a few more years of freedom. As the song goes, “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free and I won’t deny the men who died that gave that right to me. So I would stand up next to you and defend her still today, for there ain’t no doubt that I love this land….GOD BLESS THE U S A ! “

    1. Seminole Wind, exactly how have you explained that to the 22,000 American children who lost their dads in Vietnam? And to the 30,000 children fathered and then abandoned by US servicemen? You do realize that these children were unmercifully persecuted for their white or black skin?

      You clearly support that war. OK, so surely you can answer two simple questions. What right did the US military have to invade and occupy Vietnam, a foreign nation? And specifically who gave them that right?

      These are NOT rhetorical questions. The US military sent 58,209 Americans to their deaths in Vietnam. We need answers. Seminole Wind, the ball in your court.

      1. Why do you think anyone owes you an answer? You ask varying degrees of this question in every thread about war. Figure out the answer for yourself and then share your findings.

        Stop acting like someone owes you something every time you try to challenge someone about unjust wars and unlawfully being on foreign soil. Your phrasing in all your comments seems like you just want to argue, not really hear anyone’s opinion on this issue. It’s very repetitive and annoying.

      2. @Montana Guy

        You forget that wars are fought for the preservation of the US Constitution, which is based on Christian principles, and to uphold those christian values in the face of any threat. Today we still fight wars to thwart tyranny, barbaric murders, genocide, etc. That means knocking out Nazis and communism, Saddam’s blood bath of gassing Kurds, ISIS from terrorism across the globe and yes an paramilitary arm of ICE to remove illegals….

        Just imagine the US forces, fighting instead for Christian principles, and now utilized across the globe to uphold antichrist principles… Ever read Revelation! It’s coming.

        Imagine, and I believe this is coming down the pike in the next 40 years, the US military fighting to safeguard Gay/Lesbian pride parades in Europe, women’s rights in Saudi Arabia (to have the same divorce/abortion rate in America), evolution teachings in China, black rights to take farms from white generational owners in South Africa, socialism in South America, open boarders in Central America, and Climate Change in America and Canada….

        Obama stated in his presidency at West Point graduation (I believe in 2015), “The next generation of US soldiers will fight Global Warming.”

        Let’s be thankful we still have one shred of US Constitution left which those Christian principles are still being upheld today… BY OUR MILITARY!

        1. Ole Granny, what are the sources of all that stuff in your first paragraph? Clearly wars are fought for bankers and ‘select’ elite. Who do you think funded BOTH sides of the Civil War? Who planted the seed of our national debt? Does debt free people or create slaves? They now have us enslaved by $22 trillion in national debt! Today’s US military is a global military. Where have you read about that?

          If you and others believe the U.S. military has the right to invade and occupy the soil of other nations, why can’t you just answer my simple questions?

    2. Phony war with no clear objective that devolved into a weapons test/defense contractor profit centerg/government drug smuggling/unemployment reduction scam. Tonkin Gulf was a complete lie and only cover for US oil wells,the spread into Cambodia and Laos were war crimes,millions of children are still sickened and die from chemical weapons and land mines,the draft was to kill off the poor and underclass. Please get perspective on your government and what it’s true goals are.

      1. VT, I’m with you. The letter below was submitted by me to our local paper for Independence Day:

        Fifty years ago, as a young Marine,I was sent on a mission. My orders said I would escort the body of a Marine killed in Vietnam back to his family. On that mission I learned much about human nature. Most importantly, I learned that in that situation there was NOTHING I could say or do to make things better for the grieving family.

        At the funeral, I heard the minister eulogize this 19 year old man. Then the minister said something that stayed with me a long time, “He gave his life for his country.” Now, in my years of being a Marine, I never heard someone say he wanted to give his life for his country. In the years since, I have learned from combat veterans the superficial nature of that phrase, “He gave his life for his country.” Those who have seen death on the battlefield say that he had his life torn away from him, against his will. They say men in combat fight as hard as they can clinging to life.

        On this Independence Day, please take a moment and reflect on that phrase. Perhaps ask a veteran if he or she would give his/her life for this country. Curiosity may lead you to question what is really true about we who have been and are in the military.

        Yes, I have seen the price of war up close and personal. Now, I will go to war if armed invaders show up on our soil. Then lock and load.

        In the meantime, I paraphrase Marine Corps General Smedley Butler, “I was a hired gun for the big boys of Wall Street.”

        Look him up, all you who admire war.

        Carry on

  2. I am somewhat a space junkie and I also like to visit Florida now and then so naturally I like to go to the Kennedy Space Center.

    On my last time there, I took a bus tour that takes you through the historic launch pads from the early days of the space program. Mostly places that are not used anymore. One of them was the Apollo 1 launch pad where they told the story of that tragedy.

    A couple of things struck me.

    First the fire almost killed the program and it was largely the wives of the dead astronauts who fought to keep it alive.

    Second the tragedy occured at launch complex 34. After the investigation and subsequent safety improvements, the next manned launch, Apollo 7 was purposely done from the same pad. And then the pad was mothballed (actually just untouched) and was never used for another flight. The only things done to it since we’re to put up a small plaque, a temporary fence and and a bench a little ways off. There are some pieces now close to falling off and they are considering some minor restoration just for safety purposes.

    That story really appealed to me. The way they honored the men by conducting a successful launch where they died and THEN setting it aside as a memorial. I think that reflects some good things about the people involved in all that.

  3. When I was about 12 or 13 a Vietnam era former Seal took me under his wing for a brief time taking me to ball games, playing basketball and teaching me just a very little about martial arts.

    He told me a little about his training and the told me what I thought was an interesting story. He was on a river boat in Cambodia. They were connected enough with the rest of the world that they would get newspapers now and then although they would be a few days old. He was on the boat one day in Cambodia reading an article about how we had no troops in Cambodia. He said that made him feel very strange. Kind of alone.

    I know he lost some friends there and once in a while he had anger issues although never when I was around. He was a big stereo guy and had a very top of the line system. He lived in an apartment and when things overwhelmed him, he would crank his stereo all the way up and stand in the middle of his living room and yell and scream as loud as he could until until he felt better. His stereo was loud enough that his neighbors would not hear him. Only the music.

  4. Fifty years ago today I was at the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Farragut State Park, Idaho.

    At one jamboree there, a guy flew with a jet pack on his back. I then assumed by this stage in life we would all have them for daily use.

  5. Watched it live.

    Video from Mike Adams on his site, CounterThink.com
    Posted July 19, 2019
    Five reasons why Trump will LOSE in 2020… or might WIN if this happens instead http://www.counterthink.com/2019-07-19-five-reasons-why-trump-will-lose-in-2020-or-might-win-if-this-happens-instead.html
    The first 5 minutes of a 40 minute video echo my 2 points of why Trump will not win in 2020 that I’ve been yammering about for the last week. The other reasons are significant, however, as factors, there is only a weak correlation. I could elaborate on those issues, and add a more important third issue, the financial system, not the stock market, as the other critical failure point.

    (the rest of the article in on my Gab page)

  6. A general comment…

    They now have those movies out there where a group of black (I believe lesbian) females were the math wizards of the space program in the 1960s. What propaganda…

    Has any ready Ann Coulter’s book on why women can’t do math as well as men. There has been a big HUGE stink of women’s Righters complaining that women can’t keep up with men in math and science…. INCLUDING engineering.

    Just so happens a woman’s brain hemispheres are connected. A man’s brain is damaged in the birth canal doped with testosterone. Under a brain scan calculating deep math (calculus or phsyics let’s say) a woman’s four quadrants of the brain light up … sometimes going in a circle like a round robin.

    A man’s brain only lights in the frontal lobe left side…the place were complex math is figured. So the feminist understand that a woman is best at discussing problems as a man is best at solving problems. Some of you married men can attest (Your wife always seems to have a problem until you solve it, then she gets a bigger and better problem and the cycle repeats…. That’s why God gave women a man (her husband) because a group of women sitting discussion a problem never has a solution but endless problems… I mean that ladies).

    Anyhow…. the next person going anywhere is a WOMAN, of course, on MARS. She’ll take all the credit as men design everything and build the rockets….

    Can’t wait to see Hollywood’s take on that…. It will be all a out the WOMAN and not a about the family..

    1. My gut tells me that the story of the black mathematician was fake or simply exaggerated. I don’t know of course and that is the point. It is 50 plus years later and anyone who might have known this story is fake has passed away. I don’t think it benefits anyone to exaggerate a story to build up any group because to the extent it isn’t believable it actually accomplishes the exact opposite.

    2. You need to meet some Russian or Ukrainian women some of the best mathematians/engineers you will ever meet. Women can’t do math is strictly a western European stereo type

    3. Has someone told this fairy tale
      Theophanu, Catherine the Great, Mary Anne Patten, Marie Curie, Angela Merkel, Maria Theresia, Marie Curie, Hildegard von Bingen

  7. Couple things.

    The book and movie you speak of is Hidden Figures. The basis was to tell the story of the female mathematicians, both black and white (although it focused more on the black) who were the calculators doing the technical but tedious mathematics for the engineers in the aerospace world prior to computers being readily available. They used women because they could be hired cheaper. I read the book and saw the movie and I do not recall a single lesbian. I do recall numerous church picnics.

    My daughter went to MIT and received a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering. She went there largely because her father (me) kept my size 13 up her backside, kicking the nonsense ideas that you speak of out of her. Fortunately she listened to me and not Ann Coulter and is now a Controls System Engineer for Blue Origin designing the control system for the Auxiliary Power Unit for the New Glen rocket. Basically the hydraulic system that steers the rocket. She is also happily married to a fine Christian man.

    The last person I heard make the statement you did was an old pastor of mine. Good theologian but he failed out of an Engineering program at Princeton where he had a full ride. His stated reason? He could not get Calculus. Maybe the estrogen levels in his 6’6″ 200+ lb frame were too high but it did not show. Maybe he just did not have the guts to do the work. Or maybe in fairness if someone had told him he could do it even though he was struggling he would have made it.

    Maybe women’s and men’s brains are wired different. I don’t know. I don’t care. How your brain is wired or even how smart you are in general is not the important thing. It is how hard you work. And also if people who care about you, believe in you.

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