The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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 focuses mainly on medical drug issues.

Why Democrats Would Lose a Civil War

Another U.S. civil war is unlikely in the near future, but if it were to come to that, this article explains why a red vs. blue war would result in the blue losing. While the blue holds the ports, the red holds the heartland with the vast majority of resources. Even if the military were to fall on the blue side, it would be incapable of imposing it’s will. Sure, it could probably hold any ground it stood on and a short distance around, but in 4th gen warfare, there are no pitched battles.

Long Thin Logistics Chain of Medicine

Did you know that a significant portion (if not the majority) of medicinal drugs in the U.S. are manufactured off-shore? On the Food and Drug Administration’s web site, there is a page that lists drugs that are in short supply. Last week, there were 90 entries on the list covering drugs such as antibiotics, anesthesia, imaging aids, immunosuppressives, tube feeding solutions, and sedatives. Remember this last season when a string of hurricanes cause a severe saline shortage because a major manufacturer had to shut down operations in Puerto Rico? There is a national security issue when this many medical drugs are manufactured and supplied on a very vulnerable supply line. Hopefully, next time your doctor puts you on a drug (especially a long-term drug), this will help you ask questions you didn’t think of before. Thanks to reader V.V. for the link.

Drug Ads on TV

here is an interesting article, sent in by reader DSV, on why your T.V. is inundated with ads for drugs that you can’t really even remember the name of, let alone what they treat. The article definitely has an anti-big-pharma slant to it, but it does bring up some serious points to ponder. This is a push to normalize medicinal drug use for the vast majority of the population. It also encourages you to self-diagnose and “go to your doctor”. This encourages you to allow someone else to manage your health. As an EMT, I can readily see where the vast majority of the population in the area where I live have lost the ability to manage even minor sicknesses and symptoms. They are incredibly dependent upon a complicated, self-replicating health monster.

Mass Shootings and Drugs

Unless you had your head stuck in the sand, you are probably familiar with the fact that every mass shooter in recent history was already on mind and mood altering drugs when they committed their atrocities. There is a question in many minds of whether the caused the issue or whether the drug was just innefective in dealing with the mental issue. An important point to remember is that drug companies are required to list the side-effects of these drugs. When you read them, you find that sometimes the side effect is the exact same thing the drug is designed to negate.

That means at a minimum, anyone being given these drugs should be closely supervised. If the drug isn’t working as intended, it must be changed or removed. Drug companies are well aware of this because as the article points out, they have paid millions in settlements over these exact same issues. Thanks to D.S. for the link.

Cape Town Water Crises Survival

Reader G.P. sent in this National Geographic video on the Cape Town water shortage. While the majority of main stream media has been ignoring the whole issue, SurvivalBlog readers have been aware as we have followed the reporting by Lauren Southern and others. National Geographic’s coverage focuses on the need for better usage patterns of water such as using “grey” water to flush the toilets and how to manage hygiene with less water. It’s a bit on the propeganda side, but valuable information nonetheless.

Ryan Bundy is Running for Governor

Reader H.L. sent in this article on Ryan Bundy’s bid for Governor of Nevada. This may be one more side effect of the blowback on the federal goverments zeal to crush them. Without the national media coverage generated by the both the Nevada conflict and the Oregon conflict and the subsequent railroading of the federal court case, I think it would be doubtful that he would stand a chance. I don’t agree with the tactics used by the Bundy’s, especially in Oregon, but the government’s response was so over the top (and typical) that I really think they created this. I also agree with his statement that he is probably the best candidate in the field that is currently running.

Survival Property

Survival Realty has a new listing of a beautiful property in Idaho of 20 acres with a solar powered home sitting at the end of a 1/4 mile private drive. The property includes forest, meadows, a class one year-round creek, two springs and 4 ponds. This would make an excellent retreat property.

o o o

Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!




26 Comments

  1. I ask my DR to prescribe larger doses of my tablets and cut them with a pill cutter and over time build up a years supply. The larger doses are often not much more costly than the smaller dose.

    1. I refill my prescription at the 90% point and each time I get an extra 10 days or so of supply. The medical insurance will allow you to refill a few days to a week early, ask the pharmacist.

  2. Just curious how the author has access to the medical files of the murderers referenced in the “Mass Shootings and Drugs.” Due to HIPAA legislation there is no way we have access to the medical records of these murderers. Not saying psychoactive drugs didn’t play a part in any of the recent mass murders, just that I don’t think we can prove that. What can be observed in all of the cases is the perpetrators’ obsession with violent video games and movies that have desensitized them to the atrocities they then committed.
    I’d suggest the powers that be look at restricting access to these violent video games and movies the same way in which they have restricted access to firearms for minors. Make sellers of them get a signed form that the game will be kept in a place inaccessible to minors to protect their developing brains from the damages done.

      1. Or, and this isn’t just a thought, maybe instead of inviting the Government further into our lives and handing out bans and regulations that never ever work, voluntarily handing over more of our liberties and freedom and begging them to further enslave us, we could just have parents do their jobs as parents and make proper and sound judgements about what they allow there children to be exposed to. Just maybe…..

    1. Between the families of those that did the shootings, and the online posts many of the shooters made, the information was made available, as they publicly stated they were on prosac, xanex, ritalin, zoloft, paxil, etc…
      The shooting that happened before the HIPPA law went into affect in 1996 were easier to get, and many families stated what the shooters were on after the event happened.
      Very little is truly private…

  3. “Why Democrats Would Lose a Civil War”

    This article is wrong about well, just about everything. Not that democrats wouldn’t lose, they surely would but the notion of a binary and symmetric conflict in the former America is an extraordinarily shallow understanding of our country and it’s many cultures (don’t read as simply races).

    Start here; America is a country, NOT a nation. America is many nations and not just nations of races. That should help.

    There are North – South lingering problems, black, white, Hispanic, and drug cartels that won’t take kindly to having their biz disrupted by war. The military is being converted by SJW’s into something that will (I say purposefully) be mailable to combat against Americans. The police follow orders and if you think they won’t be on their own side you’re wrong. There are commies EVERWHERE even on the so called ‘Right’. There is the American church that will side with any government no matter what while it’s dispensationist leaders have convinced 2 generations to do nothing because they’ll be poofed out of here in the rapture (tell that to the Christians in Egypt being actually crucified even now) so why bother trying stay free. There are millions and millions who believe everything the TV tells them. An increasing number of muslims (with no weapons at all in their mosques, pfft. And again, the left needs an army to kill you.) There is the mountain west which doesn’t necessarily like the Scots-Irish south but could likely stay allied, maybe. Cities vs. country. Means of production vs. wealth. America is puffy, doughy, fat, and lazy. Kill the power grid and it’s over in three days for 90% who will then do whatever they are told.

    I could go on and on. Republicans vs. Democrats? Not so much. Red vs. Blue? Not even.

    1. And, since the head Republican is a gun controller and his federal and state apparatus is falling into line with this why would I fight for them? This a very bad situation. Of course, the number of viable targets just doubled so that’s handy.

    2. The war will always be one family against 20 body armored automatic gun wielding and night vision capable swat. Think about it. That’s the next war for us citizens. We will all be pushed to follow gods laws or follow man’s laws. It will come down to fierce gun battles for your family that your redoubt neighbors will stay out of to live another day. Sorry but you need to defend with traps and securing the path to your home front door. Arm heavily and fight the good fight. Feds don’t back down unless you’re living in a sanctuary state such as California and your last name is Sanchez.

    3. As a moderate who owns a gun and supports the Second Amendment, albeit not the idea that everyone, no matter how crazy, should be allowed semi-automatic or fully automatic weapons on demand, I would like to point out that the Patriot Act was enacted by a Republican president and a Republican Congress. The Patriot Act greatly enhanced the government’s ability and “right” to spy on all Americans. The continuing right-wing journey of the Republican party is the reason this life-long registered Republican no longer votes Republican. When I was growing up in the ’50’s it was a conservative, honest political party that had the welfare of the Normal American (of which I count myself one) at heart; now it simply follows the orders of the corporate sponsor who offers the most money. Sort of like the other side now that I come to think of it.

  4. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Which came first, the individual has mental problems and was likely to do stupid things or the individual is taking drugs because he has mental problems? In other words the fact that these nutcases were taking drugs does not mean that the drugs caused them to do stupid things. They have already been diagnosed as not right in the head. crazy, mentally ill, needing help, etc. Don’t miss the forest by looking at a tree.

  5. At a Veterans Hospital I used to work at refills were mailed from the hospital to the patient. They ran out of a type of water pill. This particular pill in higher doses will cause you to lose Potassium. One of our patients was on it. When they ran out of the water pill they continued to send him the the supplemental potassium. Since he wasn’t taking the water pill he did not need the potassium. No nobody had educated him on these medications. Long story short, he kept taking the supplement, his potassium level went up and it he died from too much of it.

    The only good thing to come out of it was it gave me a very good story to tell my patients who were taking the water pill and the potassium. Many of them had not heard of the link before I discussed it with them.

  6. Yes, the logistics chain is long and thin. There is a government Strategic National Stockpile which has caches located in 6 (6 or 9) secret places which came about sometime after 9/11.

    Actually, I remember seeing it on TV recently and it may have been 60 Minutes.
    There are rules for when it is released and how much and under what conditions.
    You may wish to google it. It’s quite interesting. I remember they have 300 million doses of smallpox antidote and enough anthrax to handle an attack in 3 different cities simultaneously.

    Makes me feel a little bit more comfortable. Not enough to not keep my own stockpile of drugs and medicines I might need. But at least someone has thought about it and is thinking about it. That’s better than nothing.

    Nevertheless, when the big pandemic arrives those other generic drugs made in India and China for other acute conditions that we also need, plus the antibiotics we will need at the time will be slow in coming if at all if a substantial number of their folks come down ill with the flu. They will guard it for themselves. Can’t blame them.

    Keep prepping. If anything can go wrong it will. We here know that.

      1. First responders in most cases – public safety, nurses, doctors and the like. The military currently gets a whole host of shots and maybe even smallpox.

  7. Re a civil war scenario: Commies controls our ports. Today they bring in container ships full of Chinese junk. Imagine container ships full of Chinese troops.

  8. For those who seem not to know about the connection between prescription drugs and mass killings, hold on to your seatbelt.

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/10/no_author/the-mass-shooting-problem-like-organised-terrorism-is-a-drug-problem/

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/01/lawrence-a-hunter/its-the-drugs-not-the-guns/

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/03/rebecca-terrell/psychiatric-meds-prescription-for-murder/

    http://takimag.com/article/if_drugs_could_kill_gavin_mcinnes/print#axzz3fU6RT64j

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/07/joseph-mercola/never-take-killer-drugs/

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/10/no_author/confirmed-vegas-shooting-suspect-prescribed-dangerous-drugs-just-like-many-previous-mass-shooters/

    http://naturalsociety.com/are-psych-meds-involved-with-the-latest-lafayette-louisiana-shootings/

    There is more, much much more. Virtually every mass shooter in the last 20 to 30 years have been on some kind of prescription, mind altering drug. Certainly going back as far as Columbine and further.

    It’s funny, none of these killers did what they did because of cannabis use. There needs to be a war on drugs alright, a war and prescription, mind altering drugs. Problem is the real drug cartels, big pharma, have both houses of Congress, and the State legislatures in their back pockets.

    Drain the swamp

  9. Almost every one of the antidepressant and many other drug ads you see lists the side effect “may cause thoughts of suicide”. Why just suicide? Why not homicide as well?
    Actually just search SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) and mass murders. Lots of evidence that SSRIs are involved in the majority of shootings.

  10. On the meds…..why rely on what your insurance allows you to buy? Last time I refilled my B/P med, the pharmacist told me the insurance would only “allow” 30 days supply. I asked, “Can I BUY more?” “Well, yes, but the INSURANCE COMPANY will only allow 30 days.” “OK, how MUCH FOR 1,000 DOSES?” I got a funny look from her, because she does not see people buying their own meds….they are slaves to the insurance companies! I bought 1,000 doses of Lisinopril for $109.00. I cut those in half, so I have 2,000. Or about six years. Next time I can refill, I’ll buy double that. The more you buy, the greater the discount. And you won’t be standing in a five mile line to get your handout from the national stockpile, if that every gets used. I would imagine that the national stockpile is about useless, since it was built about 13 years ago, and stored in large warehouses without climate controls. Have your critical meds IN YOUR HAND.

      1. The Strategic National Stockpile is climate controlled and rotated constantly and must cost a fortune to maintain. Some stuff has to be rotated more than others. But yes, get as much as you can of the medicines you need however you do that for yourself and your loved ones.

        Besides a pandemic I can think of nothing worse and contagious as smallpox.
        Some nutcase sets that going and you’ll be glad there are 300 million doses available. Unless you are into making an antidote yourself. Just please let the rest of us know when you’ve got that covered.

  11. Here I am reporting from “behind enemy lines” in Kalifornia, a state which, when I moved here in the mid-80s, was often referred to as “Reagan Country.”

    Civil War II?

    Now the People’s Republic of Kalifornia declares itself to be a sanctuary state, thereby adopting its own foreign policy. The Oakland mayor warns Hispanic criminals of pending ICE raids. Kalifornia businesses are threatened with fines for cooperating with ICE. The beat goes on.

    The result is that Kalifornia has taken a constitutional position akin to that of Jefferson Davis and the South Carolina secessionist firebrands of 150 years ago. I will be waiting for Kalifornia politicians’ apologies to the Old South for what their ancestors did in suppressing the Southern rebellion, i.e., “I don’t agree with what you said, but I will defend to the death your right to have said it.” I am not holding my breath. (As an aside, I saw Javier Becerra, the Kalifornia Attorney General on Fox News, saying this morning that the wall would never work. What Hispanic politicians like him and other Leftists are actually most afraid of is THAT IT WILL.)

    With the sometimes violent political division in the country now, there is much speculation about a coming Civil War II. I really doubt it, but I agree with many bloggers and commentators who are saying that the country is closer to civil war now than at anytime since the 1860s.

    Contrary to claims by many, Admiral Yamamoto never said that Japan could not successfully invade the US because there would be “a rifle behind every bush,” but whoever actually said it certainly knew what he was talking about, and Yamamoto, if he had “a lick of sense,” would have said, “Damn right!” The latte-sipping Left is woefully unprepared to deal with this issue.

    Concepts concerning the use of military forces expressed in that Town Hall piece were applicable to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. That article helps to indicate just how ludicrous it was when the insurgency was in high gear with Iranian help, for arm chair generals to ask the question, “Why don’t they just secure the border?” I had to listen to this BS at the office.

    It also demonstrates how meaningless it was when Obama, as a sop to the very small handful of his Democratic worshippers who were actually interested in Southern border security, would announce the hiring of a few hundred Border Patrol officers to patrol a 1,500 mile border. Obama knew that this drop in the bucket wouldn’t cut off the flow of future Democrats, and his devoted followers weren’t smart enough to figure this out.

    With this idiotic talk of Kalifornia secession, a friend of mine said that he would contribute to the effort if the issue got on the ballot here. Once it passed and Kalifornia seceded, he would move out of state, knowing that 55 ballots had been permanently removed from the Electoral College and that there would not be a Democrat elected President for decades. Mission accomplished.

    This idea has merit.

  12. Robb
    I suggest you stop cutting your pills in half because almost ALL prescription meds have a protective coating on them to help keep the potency correct. Once they are cut in half the obvious happens, the coating no longer does its job and both halves loose there potency MUCH faster. Sorry but you may have a years supply of very close to useless meds.

  13. My comment may seem insignificant, although when you think about it, you may see the point I am getting at.
    Please, Please, stop referring to us as red and blue states!! Why? Because you are playing directly into the game that the Marxist media low-lifes want you to play.
    Neither party has ever had an “official color”, although up until the 2000 elections, the Dhimmicrats used red as their party color and the Republican’ts used blue.
    The Marxist media decided that they, “the media”, were going to arbitrarily change the colors around because they did not like the Republican’ts referring to the Dhimmicrats use of red as indicating their communist leanings.
    Playing the game only gives them more power to continue their nonsense.
    Perhaps, choices like Patriot States versus Radical States, Free States versus Serf States, Citizen States versus Denizen States, or maybe, Bravo Zulu States versus FUBAR States.
    Anything is better than playing into the Marxist media game.

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