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”.
Another Gun Maker Bites the Dust
According to this article sent in by reader H.L., another company has caved to the SJWs on the left. Vista Outdoor, Inc (owner of Savage Arms and Stevens) has announced that they are seeking to divest themselves of the Arms manufacturing business. They supply a large percentage of outdoor recreational equipment (like bicycle helmets and CamelBak systems) to retailers such as Walmart and REI. In March, REI suspended all orders from the company in order to force its hand. My takeaway from this? I’m canceling my REI membership.
Pro-Gun Public School Walkout
Whatever happened to educating kids at school? While I see why students might want to organize a pro-Second Amendment walk-out in response to earlier anti-gun walkouts, I fail to see what this has to do with educating students. With the public schools failing on all fronts of education and America’s position in world education constantly slipping backwards, this is a travesty. You know that it won’t get the media coverage because the vast majority of media are anti-gun. If I had my child in public school, I wouldn’t let them walk out on either account. Get your kid out of public school while you can and get them into a system that will actually educate them like homeschool or private school.
Boy Scouts Cave Yet Again
First, they won their case all the way through the U.S. Supreme Court. Then they started collapsing from within. First it was allowing gay scouts. Then it was allowing gay scout leaders. Then it was allowing transgenders. Then it was allowing girls into “Boy” scouts. Now they are dumping the iconic name and just calling it Scouts BSA. It’s a terrible name. To the conservative, it demonstrates that they caved on all accounts. To the liberal, the “B” still stands for “boy”. So the name is technically, “Scouts Boy Scouts of America”. If ever a name change deserved a face-palm, this one is it. A once great, moral institution has been reduced to rubble. I wouldn’t let my child anywhere near this organization today. Thanks to DSV for the link.
Kill List
Reader G.P. sent in this article showing a Federal Judge questioning the government’s power to put U.S. citizens on a secret “kill list”. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer repeatedly questioned government lawyers at a hearing on whether national security concerns outweigh a citizen’s right to know if they are being targeted for assassination or even to challenge their designation as a terrorist. While I understand why the past two administrations have claimed they have the right to target these citizens, it is a very slippery slope.
Your State’s Largest Export
Several SurvivalBlog readers sent in this article showing what the largest export from every state is. If you live in one of these states, it will probably come as no surprize to you what the export is, but taken as a whole, there were several things that were eye-opening for me. Take for instance the largest export of Washington D.C. Who would have thought that “Ammunition” would be the main export in this hot-bed of liberal think. I guess “lies” don’t count as a main export. If it did, there would be several states vying for that one. The chart is interesting nonetheless.
China’s Social-Credit System
China’s social-credit system becomes mandatory in 2020 and is aiming to funnel all behavior into a credit score. A few months ago, if you defaulted on a bill, the results were natural. You had a harder time getting a loan for that car. But now, you can no longer make bad political jokes as you will get defined as a loon. The result being that you will be unable to travel. You are also judged by the friends you keep. If your close friends are problems, you are lumped in with them. The biggest problem is that any such social judgment is purely subjective. You don’t even get to know how the algorithm that dings your behavior works.
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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!
I wonder if tomahawk missles count as an export of DC?
Scouts BSA is now a politically correct hodge podge of social justice warriors. It won’t last another 5 years.
but the new Merit Badges could be really fun to earn.
I no longer donate time or money to the Scouts. We parted ways a few years ago. Sad to see an organization that focused on morals, values, and patriotism depart from those original objectives. “Morally straight” doesn’t mean what it used to, not even sure if “on my honor” or “duty to God and my country” still mean anything.
It has been many years since those values have been part of the scouts.
I had a reminder of them last week stumbling over a old copy of the Boy Scout Handbook. It made me sad to see this happen.
Waitaminnit.
Montana’s main export is Tobacco? Which locale is this grown in?
More $ than coal, oil, wheat, beef?
My oldest participates with the local scout troop. They do a lot of camping and community service, repeat the Scout Oath and Boy Scout Code, they pray before every meal, and generally still conform to the norms and practices I expect from that group. The (other) parents and elders make comments and jokes about some activities at the national level, the troop leaders chuckle and roll their eyes, but the organization in this town behaves the same way it always has for the last 40-years.
I think what happens at the national level, and local level, depends on your locale.
I’m wondering when my church, and other churches, will divest themselves of the BSA (“Boy” Scouts, not British Small Arms motorcycles) and form their own church and moral based youth organizations, parallel to what the BSA used to be.
Maybe even band together form a common Church Scouts? Hmmmm……..
Google (or Bing or whatever) Royal Rangers… it’s a faith-based church centered program like the BSA to help develop Christian young men. Some 77 different Christian denominations and fellowships can start a chartered outpost and many of the things that the BSA have cast aside in the name of membership numbers (such as a traditional moral core) are still key elements of the RR program.
Check the Royal Rangers. There may be others. That’s the one I’ve heard of.
BSA stands for Birmingham Small Arms not British Small Arms
Whoever decides to purchase the Savage and Stevens Arms branches of Vista Outdoors, I hope they have an IPO, I’d like to get in on the ground floor for a stock purchase.
REI – Recreations Elite Idiots…always too expensive and reminded me of a Kalifornia fern bar for sports.
Pro-Gun Public School Walkout:
Your bottom line; get your children out of public school is correct. Given a child’s presence as already there I would allow my child to walk out. Call it a Civics field lab.
Kill List:
I think Americans are being killed by federal “agents” already, which, puts us at the bottom the slope no longer slipping on it.
Your State’s Largest Export:
They simply took international export categories and found the state of origin. I would like to know the total state exports including interstate commerce with both categories broken out. That would be way more useful info going forward both from a survival point of view and a current business climate analysis point view.
re:
Kill list
So… the government agents claim they possess ‘rights’.
I’m pretty sure the government agents have no rights. In fact, I’m convinced any claim by the government agents about them possessing rights is Treason.
Treason with a capital ‘T’. As in ‘capital offense’.
Re: China Social Credit System; This is where battles against tyranny will be won or lost. I hope you young techies are up for the fight! Guns will not matter if the cyber war is lost.
The map of biggest exports is enlightening! Four states has food as their largest export and one of those is lobsters?
In a way, I’m glad the Boy Scouts changed the name. It brings closure to the entire thing. It’s a new program, and the program I grew up with, and my boys were part of for four years in Cub Scouts is gone. Makes it easier to look back at the pictures and such and realize that organization no longer exists.
I’ve got my boys enrolled in Trail Life USA, A Christian Scouting organization. We love it, and we can continue the scouting experience in our family.
Re: Boy Scouts … Trail Life USA is a Christian boys outdoor club, similar to the old Boy Scouts. For girls, there are two options: Frontier Girls and American Heritage Girls, both Christian. There is no alternative that I know of for 4-H, which has gone batty, too.
The export chart is total garbage. NY imports diamonds , cuts them, and the expoorts them. What does that have to do with anything. No diamonds are mined in NY just as no ammunition is manufactured in DC.
Whoever controls a twelve billion dollar industry has a lot to do with things. I live in New York. A lot of light bulbs just went on. I did not have the faintest idea that the Diamond District in NYC had that much money. I thought it was just a place to go buy cheaper engagement rings
Follow the money indeed. Thank you for the link.
Re: Boy Scouts; go on Amazon and purchase an older copy of the Boy Scout Handbook{ca: 1960s} and teach your boys what Scouting was ment to be!
Public schools do not educate Americans. They only indoctrinate with socialist or atheist values. To educate our young, we will have to home school or make private schools available to American children.