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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Via SurvivalBlog reader C.B., we’ve just heard of the passing of Dr. Richard Cash, on October 22nd. He was the driving force in popularizing modern Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORSes). His work has surely saved countless lives, particularly in the Third World. Dr. Cash was 83 years old. Our condolences to his family.
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Iran-Backed Houthis Reportedly Declare Ceasefire Shortly After Trump Victory.
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Texas Secessionists Declare ‘Revolution’ After Election Results. JWR’s Comment: Their choice of headline wording shows the statist bias of the Newsweek editors.
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On November 6th, my #1 Son, Jonathan Rawles, posted a set of 2024 presidential election maps showing the northwest states on X/Twitter: Total Redoubt Victory.
JWR’s Comments: Those maps confirm what we already knew about the ongoing conservative political shift, east of the Cascades. The liberals are fond of saying: “Demographics Are Destiny.” Well, I have a news flash for them: Demographics also work for us. Conservative families tend to have lots of kids, and if they are home-schooled, nearly all of those kids grow up to be conservatives. Game Over.
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An interesting SurvivalRealty property in North Idaho, with a house built of ICFs: Grid Down Fortified Homestead.
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Blog reader “Sis” wrote:
“Good morning. I’m of course following the recent stock-up article series. If people do have a blender they can make rice or oat flour in it. Also although it would be quite slow you can use your coffee grinder to grind up wheat, dried beans, etc. to use in cooking. It gives a person a lot more options when making food. Also, the book “Cookin’ With Home Storage” [by Peggy Layton and Vicki Tate] is helpful. Readers should be able to get a used copy quite inexpensively, online. Have a blessed day.”
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Reader D.S.V. sent this link: How 3D Printing Technology Is Keeping Old Cars Running.
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SaraSue sent this snippet:
Like the recent writer, I too was shocked at the eerie quiet after the election, and I am also suspicious. The word has obviously gone out to the chaotic rioters of BLM, Antifa, etc., not to riot, and to the mainstream media to tone it down and accept the results. As in, there was probably no money put into it as in previous years by Soros and his ilk in the communist/Marxist groups. The good news is I hear a lot of people took preparations seriously. None of that extra food, water, and ammo will go to waste. I voted early so I could stay safe on the farm.
We still have a ways to go until our new President is seated, but good changes are already taking place. The Saudis have told Hamas to get out. The EU is redirecting their LNG purchases from Russia back to the U.S.. Putin has expressed a desire for a ceasefire in Ukraine, and is looking forward to working with our new President. China is expecting tariffs and will lower prices, which in turn will strengthen the U.S. dollar, and bring jobs back home. Israelis feel safer. Our new President has announced that he will make it illegal to transgender minors and a criminal offense to do so, as well as the loss of federal dollars to all who participate and that includes teachers, doctors, and hospitals. Illegal criminal aliens will be deported post haste.
Joel Salatin (a food freedom advocate and regenerative farmer) has been selected to act in an advisory position at the USDA. The Amish came out and voted in Pennsylvania abandoning their “no politics” stance after being harassed by the USDA for years. I’m personally excited that RFK Jr. will lead the charge against Big Pharma, Big Food, and Big Ag who have together made us the sickest generation in decades. There are many more examples of positive change we need and voted for. It “feels like” we have been granted a reprieve from the God of Heaven and Earth. Let’s not squander it and continue to be prayerful and diligent.
In farm news, I had hired some workers last month and was very excited for work to be completed on the farmhouse. That is, until, they worked one half-day and then disappeared. I have a policy to pay time and materials and not provide deposits for work to be done. That held me in good stead. I have since found someone to complete most of the work.
The coyotes have become a huge problem in our area so the LGDs are working overtime. I watched a bold coyote, in broad daylight, waltz across the pastures and into the yards around the house before being chased off. I didn’t have a good shot since the cows were in the background. I never did get a coyote hunter out here earlier in the year, but I am going to follow up with that since neighboring farms are also experiencing losses.
I am drying off two of my milk cows in preparation for spring calves, so no milk for the house but a reduced workload. All in all, I’m excited for the holidays and am expecting family coming and going for a couple of months. Stay busy and prayerful y’all.”
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Reported on October 6th: Speaker Johnson calls federal response to Helene ‘a massive failure’.
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Richard T. wrote:
“Let’s not repeat the mistake that was made following the 2016 Trump election victory when many thought that we had reached the “promised land” and that it was no longer necessary to prepare, and that just basically snoozed and let the inventories of ammo, beans, getaway vehicles and bugout bags and plans to collect dust and be forgotten. The results of the 2020 election was a wake-up call and preppers woke up and went back to prepping again. Learn from history. The 2024 election results should be a cause to get going and get things done, not to go back to sleep. It’s not over. We need to learn to prepare not for the worst of times, but for the best of times. We need to take advantage of an era when the government is not there to get things done for us, but for it to get out of our way so that we can get things done our way. This election wasn’t a popularity contest between two candidates, it was an election about a choice between two futures; the one which was rejected was a future that was scripted by them for us to comply with; the one that was chosen was the one where we write the script; we do it, we get it done. They get out of our way. We’ve got bridges to build and ditches to dig, let’s get to it.”
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My #1 Son Jonathan Rawles recently assembled some fascinating links on the AT&T Long Lines sites:
Photo essays on Long Lines facilities from Ronny Salerno:
Part 1 https://ronnysalerno.com/queencitydiscovery/2019/05/the-long-lines-part-1.html
Part 2 https://ronnysalerno.com/queencitydiscovery/2019/05/the-long-lines-part-2.html
Comprehensive/hobbyist researcher websites:
http://personal.garrettfuller.org/blog/att-long-lines/
Here is a map, circa 1960, showing the AT&T Long Line Network:
And here is a hardened Long Line site in the Midwest that is now on the open market: Patmos Underground Bunker. Note that the sellers will only reveal the exact location to qualified buyers, but here is a map that shows it vaguely.
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Most SurvivalBlog readers have heard of the small unit tactics training maestro who posts under the pen name “Max Velocity”. I just heard that Max Velocity’s books & manuals and are now available as audiobooks.
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Reader “G.Y.” wrote:
“I discovered something tonight. I tried to download a PDF… …and it was encrypted by Google Wallet. This wallet is ‘free’ to all Google users but compiles all your downloads, payments, vax certificates, etc., and you have to accept the app to [be able to] access these things. [It could be] used as a digital pass for toll booths, tickets, payments of bills, etc. So tell me that this is not the large mouth to the funnel for the Mark [Of the Beast]!
Very soon we will have to delete everything off the Internet and stay off of it. Internet access will only be granted by those who will take The Mark and use their profile. We are being held captive by this world system. Soon we will be denied by it and have access to nothing. Think about that: No electricity, heat, cooking, water, food, banking, savings, or gas for cars. No medical system or services. No transportation, phone, communication, mail. Nothing.”
JWR’s Replies: Plan accordingly, for full isolation. If we are de-banked, de-accredited, de-platformed, de-traveled, and made generally incommunicado, then we may be down to just barter with our nearby neighbors. That is if the Powers-That-Be have their way and start putting dissidents and “deplorables” in a digital Gulag (“Google-lag”?] They are hoping that we can be marginailzed into near silence. This is one reason why I went ahead and prototyped my SurvivalBlog Old School (S.O.S.) hardcopy snail-mailed newsletter. I’ll be keeping that project on the back burner. They can’t stop the signal!
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A recent video from Katie Hopkins: 2025. The Year of Non-Compliance. I WILL NOT COMPLY.
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Reader Mike M wrote:
“I usually use a reliable outlet for all battery purchases even though I know its location is very close to the seedy side of town. Actually, it is the very edge of a bad area. This business knows everything and has everything associated with most types of batteries. My large truck battery has been malfunctioning on different occasions lately so I took the time to go there this morning for a diagnosis on the battery, starter or alternator problem. It saves a lot of time to go to a professional with the proper testing equipment. The battery was malfunctioning and replaced.
While leaving the parking lot I noticed what I thought was a large screw or nail but it turned out to be nothing important. Which brings me to my point. Today, election day, in just a few hours, if the right person does not win, it is possible that major crimes will once again erupt in our major cities.
As a retired LEO I remember the tricks used by gang members to stop vehicles on the roadways. Of course nails and screws to flatten tires will be one example. But, all people should know that in troubled times other scenarios will take place. One such ruse that has been used is a baby carrier, car seat, or stroller on the side of a desolate highway. Naturally, most people will stop to check on this. After the person gets out of their vehicle, usually left running with keys in ignition, one outlaw will steal the vehicle at the very minimum. Two or three bad guys will grab, shoot, beat up or do worse things to a woman or teenager. There are numerous ways to get people to stop and check on someone. I advise traveling down the road a safe distance and then calling law enforcement to report the incident. Use good judgment and always think about safety first, rescue second.
I always try to “think as an outlaw” and ask myself what they would/could do to accomplish a crime. Each incident is different, this is just one example of criminal behavior. Be safe.”
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Reader H.L. mentioned this news: Groton submarine base placed on its own microgrid.
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Brian H. wrote:
“Tunnel Rabbit’s recent article series on chain saws was very thorough and very informative. I would add just a few things:
1. In addition to the saws he described, I recommend you get a GOOD-QUALITY electric chain saw, and an old-school portable generator capable of powering it, for the following reasons:
a. Gas saws, in order to be able to operate in any position, have a complex, finicky fuel system, as he noted. Even with ample spare parts, a gas saw will be a challenge to keep running over the long haul even for someone experienced in small engine repair. A generator, particularly an old-school one with a simple gravity feed fuel system, is much more foolproof and easy to repair long-term. It can also be used to power other things.
b. A portable generator will not require two-cycle oil, nor the necessity of mixing fuel, and if we are in a years-long SHTF situation where the gasoline starts to deteriorate, it will be much easier to start a generator once with starting fluid and let it run, than it will be to start a gas saw with ether every time.
c. Electric saws are much lighter than gas saws, and are therefore easier to handle. They are also much less tiring to use for this reason, especially for a woman or someone with a compromised physique. They are also easier and safer to use if you are on a ladder, or up in a tree, or other positions with less-than-ideal footing.
d. Electric saws are much quieter, and having the noisy engine away from you makes them less fatiguing to use, and makes hearing protection less necessary.
2. He also mentioned the necessity of being able to sharpen saw chains. Sharpening saw chains is a learned skill, a time-consuming pain to do, and can only be done so many times before the chain is worn out. I recommend you get CARBIDE-TIPPED chains, and stock them in depth. This keeps you from having to constantly change dull chains, and saves you from immediately taking the edge off the chain if you accidentally hit a nail or other piece of errant metal in what you are cutting. Accidentally hitting the dirt with the saw running with a non-carbide chain will quickly take the edge off it as well.
Other than that, though, a great article! Thanks to Tunnel Rabbit, and all the contributors on here, for sharing their knowledge and helping the SurvivalBlog website that helps us all on a daily basis.”
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