By Daisy Luther
Welcome to the first Survival Saturday of 2016, with a round-up of products, news, and reading material. Happy New Year! I’m wishing you peace, preparedness, and prosperity in 2016.
This Week’s Products
Leatherman multi-tool. I got such an awesome gift this year! I love practical items and imagine my delight when I opened this Leatherman Rebar. This multitool has an awl, a wood saw (seriously), and a really good wire cutter. Mine lives happily in my purse now with my other stuff-every-girl-needs. And, if I’m ever in a survival situation and someone says, “If only we had a saw…” I can say, “Oh, I have a saw in my purse. One second!”
An off-grid instant heating pad. I got another fantastic gift that is not only handy now, but would be invaluable in a long-term crisis, especially for someone who suffers from any type of chronic pain. I got an instant heating pad made of this gooey gel. It requires no electricity or batteries. All you do to activate it is work it with your hands for a few minutes. Then you have heat that lasts for hours. To reactivate it, drop it in boiling water, then allow it to cool. This is a must-have for prepper medical kits.
This Week in Preparedness
Is this an attempt to take away individual rights to own guns? Because it sure sounds like an attempt to take away individual rights to own guns. In Illinois, proposed House Resolution 855 urges “the courts, especially the U.S. Supreme Court, to adhere to the clear wording of the Second Amendment being a right afforded to state-sponsored militias and not individuals.”
Germany had a near miss with Jihad suicide bombers on New Year’s Eve. Acting on information divulged during an interrogation after the attacks in Paris, German officials called off all public New Year’s Eve events and closed down the transit system, evacuating train stations on one of the busiest nights of the year. Munich officials report that as many as seven suicide bombers were planning simultaneous coordinated attacks across the city, which could have resulted in a death toll in the thousands.
In yet another betrayal by the US Congress, country-of-origin labels will no longer appear on meat for sale in the United States. The World Trade Organization said those labels were unfair to foreign meat producers. The only reason this would be “unfair” is that American consumers were opting for meat produced within our country. Clearly, the members of Congress (you know, the ones elected to represent your interests) don’t give a flying Houdini about the wishes of consumers, and they’ve made that clear by repealing the law passed to give us the option of purchasing American-raised meat. This article explains how to guarantee your purchases are American-raised, and also, why it’s important to avoid meat from countries like China.
The obsession with mobile devices is out of control. Just in case texting and driving wasn’t bad enough, a man in California was so distracted by his phone (while totally ignoring the spectacular ocean vista) that he walked right off a cliff and plunged to his death.
Are you ready for the remaining good jobs in America to be spread even more thinly? President Obama and his magical pen signed an executive order that will issue hundreds of thousands more work visas to foreign workers. And if that little bypass of Congress isn’t enough to make your blood boil, more than 34 MILLION blank green cards have been printed up in advance of the action. You can read the entire document on the federal register HERE.
Shop NOW to stock up on guns and ammo before Obama’s new executive orders are signed. Since Congress refused to undermine the 2nd amendment as thoroughly as Obama wanted, you can expect his Christmas surprise this week. He has been in meetings to see what actions he can take without the blessing of Congress. Obama “could lay out multiple executive actions as soon as next week, and administration officials have confirmed that recommendations for the president are nearing completion.” We can expect to see his new executive orders any day now. Shop while you can.
In case you missed it….Here’s a round-up of the top 15 articles that YOU chose from my website in 2015.
The Bookshelf
Make this the year that you achieve your prepping goals. Get organized with these books, loaded with checklists.
Prepare Your Family for Survival
This book is by Linda Loosli, the founder of Food Storage Moms. Never have I seen such thorough checklists for food supplies. You HAVE to check out Prepare Your Family for Survival. It’s a beautifully put-together book that is easy to read and simple to use. It has all of the information you need to set up the supplies necessary to weather crises of varying lengths. This is geared toward the beginner, but even a seasoned prepper will find a great deal of information that will be of use.
Set-up workbook style, this book can help you tackle the planning of your preparedness endeavors. It’s loaded with the maps, DIY projects, blueprints, and lists that you need to get organized and prepped. It includes the following:
•Checklists to stock up on life-saving survival supplies
•Projects to fortify your home from the elements
•Maps to pre-plan your bug-out and evacuation routes
•Blueprints to prepare your home’s defenses in case of societal collapse
•Forms to keep personal information on each family member organized
•Tips and tricks to maximize readiness while keeping costs down
The Pantry Primer: A Prepper’s Guide to Whole Food on a Half-Price Budget
The second edition of The Pantry Primer is nearly triple the size of the original book. It has morphed from a book about our own journey to replenish our pantry after a cross-continental move, to a detailed compendium of all things food storage. Geared towards preppers, it teaches you:
- Why everyone needs a food supply in their homes
- How much food you need
- How your pantry is directly related to your health
- The components of a perfect pantry
- Prepping for those with dietary restrictions.
- A thrifty new way of shopping so you can afford to build your pantry
- How to store the food you purchase to extend the shelf life for as long as possible
- A week-by-week plan, complete with shopping lists and menu ideas
- How to save money by making items most people purchase ready-made at the store
- Pantry inventory and maintenance
- Where to store all of that food
- Bonus: 25 frugal and delicious recipes
Since this is my book, please don’t take my word for it. Read the reviews (5 star!) and then order it here.
Anything to add to Survival Saturday?
Do you have any news links you want to share? Now’s the time! You are absolutely welcome to post your links in the comments below.
How about adding the book “The Prepper’s Water Survival Guide” to the list of books.
Hi Ralph! I’m so happy to hear you like the book. 🙂 Here’s the link for anyone who wants to take a look!
http://amzn.to/1MN1xy1
Is there any way to block the web tv audio that intrudes every time I read on of your articles. This is especially annoying when I am on line when others are sleeping.
Ahh – that is not supposed to be on here. I’ll contact the ad network and have them take it down immediately. I HATE THOSE VIDEO ADS!!!!! Thanks for letting me know.
Dear Daisy, Thanks for the updates. When I clicked on the article regarding proposed House Resolution 855, I was directed to an ad for “cheap car insurance”.
Just wanted to let you know. This is disturbing news. If gun rights are removed from
good people, the only people who will have guns are the thugs, “terrorists” and the police and now military, since Obama dismantled posse commitatus laws, which forbade the military from policing the public. thanks
Hi, ST – that’s really strange. The link still takes me to the article. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll check that again in a bit and make sure it’s directing properly. I completely agree with you on the danger of such a law.