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Sunday, August 28, 2011

All That Glitters...

With the big-time renewed interest in gold, a comment/question from commenter "LJ" -
Hey Chief,

Have heard this comment before, and always in passing : depending on the country of origin.

If gold is gold, and coins, bullion etc. is minted at 99.999.........% purity, what does the country of origin have to do with the price?

Thanks

L J
Great question.

All one ounce gold coins are not minted to .99999 purity, yet all contain an ounce of pure gold.  Huh?

The American Gold Eagle and the South African Krugerrand are each minted in 22 karat, or .9166 pure.  BUT, the coins weigh 1.09 troy ounces, and thus contain a full ounce of pure gold (do the math).  The American Gold Buffalo, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, Australian Nugget or Kangeroo and Chinese Panda are all .9999 coins, and weigh 1 troy ounce.

You then have private mints that produce gold ingots.  The two best know producers are Credit Suisse and Pamp Suisse.  Both produce .9999 gold ingots/bars in varying weights, including one ounce.

So, they all contain an ounce of pure gold, yet prices per coin/ingot can vary wildly?  Why dat?

Confidence and prejudice.

Generally speaking, a coin produced by a sovereign nation will carry a premium over a private mint.  People believe that government controlled production standards are higher than private production standards.  When it comes to minting coins/bullion, they're generally correct.

What's this prejudice stuff?  Home turf wins.  Americans will pay more for an American coin.  IN GENERAL, the pecking order after that goes to our neighbors.  Canada in this instance.  Then it goes to English speaking countries (Great Britain and Australia).

The gold Chinese Panda and SA Krugerrand are generally an exception to this rule.  The Panda is usually just behind the Canadian Maple Leaf, and the Krugerrand is almost always at the bottom of the price bucket.  Honestly, I think it is a bit of a "hang over" from the apartheid days, and some people are just not comfortable owning them.

Our other neighbor  - Mexico - is also near the bottom of the price barrel, but I think that is more due to the size of the coin.  Their most popular gold coin - the 50 peso - weighs 1.205 troy ounces.  When buying the coins, people have to do some math to figure out if it's a good deal, and they will usually just say, "forget it" and focus on the coins that contain one ounce.

Interestingly, Mexico does make 1 ounce gold coins (the gold Onza and the gold Libertad) but I have only seen a few come into the shop.

ROUGHLY, here is the pricing - (this is with spot gold at $1828 per ounce)

American Eagle - $1930
American Buffalo - $1935
Canadian Maple Leaf - $1910
Chinese Panda - $1900
SA Krugerrand - $1890
Pamp Suisse or Credit Suisse bar - $1890

I want to talk a bit about US "old gold" and some deals you can get on some of these coins.  I"ll also discuss the best and worst times to buy and sell.  I'll do that in my next post - tomorrow, as I have an appointment to teach one of my sons and his buddy how to brew beer.

I'm getting all teary..... ;-)


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Copyright 2011 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Liberty

I was listening to Mark Levin on the radio on Monday.  He had had a caller who stated she was, "a fiscal conservative and a social liberal." He noted that he didn't understand what that meant.  It was a foreign concept to him.  He proceeded to abuse the concept and the caller.

Just as liberals denigrate the Tea Party as terrorists and heartless baby-killers, many conservatives berate us social liberals.

By my definition, a social liberal is someone that believes that the individual will generally make the right choice about their own life.  All by themselves. We believe our personal moral compass is superior to that of a bureaucrat in DC, in a state capital or in a city council chamber.

We don't want to be told how to live our lives.

We also believe that if our personal choices negatively impact the life of another citizen, punishment should be meted out by the government.  THAT'S the role of government:  To ensure all citizens are able to live their lives as they see fit.  If we negatively impact another, we pay the price.  Government is NOT here to compel others to live their lives in some proscribed manner.  Well, it's not supposed to be here for that purpose.

I live my life as a social conservative, but won't impose my personal moral code on others.  I expect the same courtesy from others.
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When conversations arise about my political beliefs, I give the "fiscal conservative, social liberal" spiel.  I usually get something along these lines -

"What!?  You think pot/heroin/meth should be legal?"  Yep.  Just like they always were prior to the turn of the 20th century.  If you want to ingest poison, go right ahead.  As a country, we did pretty well up to that point.

"What!?  You think prostitution should be legal?"  Yep.  Two adults want to have sex.  Let 'em.  What's the difference between a $100 dinner or a $100 bill paying for it?  I have no desire to buy a hooker, and if you want to do so, my life is unaffected.

"What!?  You think gays should be able to get married?"  Yep.  How does their marriage negatively impact my life?  It doesn't.

"What!?  You disagree with DUI checkpoints?"  Yep.  Could there be a more in-your-face affront to the fourth amendment?  What part of, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized," is ambiguous?

To add insult to the unconstitutional injury, you can be arrested just for having alcohol in your system.  You haven't harmed anyone in any way shape or form and, just as importantly, you haven't given law enforcement any probable cause.  You're not swerving.  You're not speeding.  You're not side-swiping parked cars.  You're simply on a public road that the government has chosen to perform an illegal search.  It is presumed that if you have alcohol in your system you will harm someone.  You might do it.  How can someone be punished for an act they MAY perform?

Many people are able to get at least a little miffed when some level of government does something stupid, such as banning a fat, or prohibiting a "dangerous" food like unpasteurized milk,  But when the government passes a law that matches with their personal moral beliefs - even when it goes against the Constitution - they look the other way.

That sword cuts both ways.  This is no better than when a liberal supports a law banning cigarettes or giving all who ask a big chunk of my tax dollars because they are, "under-served" or "disadvantaged".

Painting with a very broad brush (I know not all conservatives or liberals think alike), conservatives support laws restricting social behavior, liberals support laws assuming the poor have no gray matter between their ears.

I support neither.  I support personal liberty.
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The underlying belief of both conservatives and liberals is that everyone else is too stupid to run their own lives.  The concept of liberty is just that - a concept.  In practice, well, it's just too much freedom for all of those poor saps who are too stupid to make the right choices.

If we don't have drug laws, everyone would be a strung-out heroin addict or rotted-teeth meth head.  Really?  Let me see a show of hand of ANYONE out there that would suddenly try heroin or meth if it were legalized tomorrow.

It's an obviously ridiculous concept, considering I can get both of those drugs TODAY if I wanted them.  I can also get pot, cocaine, Ecstasy, 'shrooms, - whatever I want and which are all illegal - in whatever quantities I want.

Yet for some reason - seemingly incomprehensible to conservatives - I don't do it.
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Conservatives such as Levin tend to use fear as their hammer.  As their justification for imposing their morality on others.

"What about the children?"  the conservatives wail.  "If we make it legal for adults to snort coke, more kids will do the same thing."

Uhm, not so much.  If a parent has not taught their child that abusing any drug - legal or not - will harm them, simply making it illegal to do so will make no difference.  If the kid has no parent, it's the same deal:  Just because it's illegal won't stop the kid from using drugs.

Kids learn by example.  If their parents abuse drugs or alcohol, they are more likely to do so themselves.  But, if a kid sees his favorite Uncle Bob dead in a gutter from a heroin overdose, that has a chance to make a difference.  The legality of the substance is irrelevant.

The total failure of, "The War On Drugs" is yet another proof-positive example that vice laws don't work.  Just as during the US alcohol prohibition period, the prohibition of drugs has done nothing to stop availability, and has created an enormous crime underworld.  The drug producers and sellers use violence to protect their product and territory.

Count the dead bodies on both sides of the Mexican border.  Count the number of dead bodies in inner city neighborhoods.  How many of them are directly related to drugs being illegal?  Not just related to drugs, but to drugs being illegal.  The VAST majority.

Unconvinced?  How many murders occurred last year that were related to the business of buying and selling alcohol?  If there were any at all, it would be statistically immaterial.

It has also created a drug-induced cottage industry for the government.  Prisons are bulging with offenders.  We have entire government agencies tasked with nothing other than eradicating drugs.  Local police departments include drug-related property seizures in their annual budgets.

Obscene amounts of money, pissed away, chasing some utopian vision of a drug-free society.  Sounds kinda like Obama's "Hope and Change" campaign, no?  "Hope" takes no effort, but is expensive as hell.

If your moral teachings dictate that homosexuality is a mortal sin, will the fact that two guys down the street are married to each other increase the likelihood that your kid will "turn gay"?  I didn't think so.

You don't have to go to their churches.  You don't have to go to their bars.   You don't have to associate with them in any way whatsoever.  YOU decide how to live your life, not them.

There has NEVER been a law prohibiting a substance or private act which has successfully eradicated that substance or act.  Never.  Why spend time and resources trying to control the life of someone else whose acts or beliefs have no impact on your life?
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Right now, the conservatives embrace the Tea Party.  They walk in lock step that less money should be spent by government.  They're pals.

I don't think this relationship will last.  Eventually, social liberties will be Top O' The List, and the liberals will embrace their new Tea Party brothers and sisters.

Personally, I have a simple litmus test for any issue:  Is it Constitutional?  If it's specifically allowed or prohibited by the Constitution, that's how I vote.  If it's not mentioned, it's a state or individual issue.

Drugs and alcohol, prostitution or gay marriage are not mentioned - or reasonably inferred - in the Constitution.  The country recognized this when they changed the Constitution to prohibit alcohol, and again when they repealed the prohibition.  They had to Constitutionally prohibit alcohol, since no federal power previously existed.

That makes these state or individual issues, per the ninth and tenth amendments.  As such, California could allow Hookers-R-Us franchises, and Georgia could ban them.  I can move to the state that has laws more closely aligned to my personal ethical code.

Accept The Challenge

When a law is proposed, give it the old Constitution test.  If it doesn't past muster, fight to defeat it, even if it meets your personal moral beliefs.

Government control of how any of us live is bad.  I don't want a liberal taking my cigarettes any more than I want a conservative arresting my neighbor for his Swinger Club membership.  Even though cigarettes are physically damaging, and swinging is morally bankrupt, we're both adults and have accepted the consequences of our actions.

Leave us the hell alone.

Exercise your liberty.


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Copyright 2011 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

East Coast: Grow A Pair!

OK, living in California, I'm around earthquakes all the time.  They get the heart beating, you chuckle nervously and then you finish your tuna salad sandwich.

I also get it that it is different.  They don't get many earthquakes back east.  It's like when we get a tornado in California.  It ain't normal.

You mention that some guy in a trailer park lost his Rubbermade shed, and you move on.

Listening to the wall-to-wall coverage of the 5.9 earthquake that hit the east coast, you'd think the place had been leveled.  Mass destruction, gas mains spewing columns of fire, children and their puppies fried to a crisp -

Earthquake rocks East Coast

Is it time to consider earthquake insurance?

Earthquake causes venue evacuation

And the greatest disaster of them all

Earthquake interrupts President Obama's golf game

EVERY cable news network was running nothing but earthquake news, even Fox Business. Unless the NYSE had been crushed under a pile of rubble, why in the hell were they covering this?

One of the talking head bimbetts was all a-flutter with this news - "The White House will be releasing a statement on the earthquake. We're not sure if it will be in person, or via a press release, but we'll let you know when it happens."

I can hardly wait.  "Uhm, nuthin' happened.  No injuries, little damage, lots of soiled panties.  The President will release a comprehensive plan to address the soiled panties dilemma after he finishes the back nine."

Oh, how I long for news on the Kim Kardashian wedding...

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Copyright 2011 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Grasping For Straws or Naa Noo Naa Noo

This is desperation in the extreme -
"A preemptive strike would be particularly likely in the early phases of our expansion because a civilization may become increasingly difficult to destroy as it continues to expand," the study says.
Sounds serious.

Is this a Wikileaks item that was pilfered from some top-secret military planning document?

Perhaps it's the game plan of some right-wing, gun-toting, bible-squeezin' Tea Party militia intent on cleaning up society.

It could also be them thar pesky terrorists, and be the planning of some Al Qaeda cell intent on bringing down America.

Sorry, it's not as rational as any of those. It's from some NASA scientists. Really.  The issue they think might bring this on?

Global warming.

Huh? OK, so who do these government employees - with clearly WAY too much time on their hands - think might deliver this fatal blow?

Little green men.
"Humanity may just now be entering the period in which its rapid civilizational expansion could be detected by an ETI (extraterrestrial intelligence) because our expansion is changing the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, via greenhouse gas emissions."
Let that sink in: Aliens are going to destroy the earth, because, well, we're destroying the earth.
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YO! Clear-headed politicians and public figures that think man-made global warming is a hoax:  Take this gift and run with it.  Despite the incontrovertible evidence that the global warming "scientists" were making up their "facts" from whole cloth, Al Gore and his minions are stoking the fires once again to try and get the sheeple to drink the CO2 Koolade once again.

Stop him.

Club these charlatans over the head with this.  Rub their nose in it.  Use this gift to humiliate them.  Oil your propaganda machine with this greasy little tidbit.

Make the guy standing on the corner with the colander on his head to keep the alien mind control beams out of his melon, seem like a sane, reasonable person....

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Copyright 2011 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Saturday, August 20, 2011

What A Time - Bubble or Trend?

Man o man, what a couple of weeks this has been.  We have been absolutely slammed in the precious metals shop.  Gold has skyrocketed, and people are buying and selling like crazy.

We've never seen a volume like we're seeing with people selling old jewelry.  I'd say we've had triple our regular volume.  We kind of have had a perfect storm:  We recently started a new marketing campaign, our primary competitor closed up shop for a few weeks, and the aforementioned spike in gold.

What has been very cool is that the new customers that used to go to our competitor have said - without exception - that we are their new shop.  Higher prices paid, better customer service, and a feeling that we actually WANT their business.  They are ours forever!

We've hired three part-time people in the last two weeks, and are looking for two more.  This influx of volume is putting a stress on all of us.  For us owners, it's been 7-day weeks, late into the night.  We don't want to burn out our employees, so getting the extra help is VERY important.

Part of our strategy to "drive a stake through the heart of our competitors" is adding yet another marketing tool that will put us in front of 1 million sets of eyeballs a year, plus the addition of TV commercials in the next month or so.

Doin' our part to stimulate the economy!
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The sale of bullion - primarily gold - has also jumped significantly.  Our regular customers are stocking up, big-time, and the new folks are kicking themselves in the butts for not moving sooner.  The most common refrain:  "When gold hit $1600, I figured there would be a big correction and I'd swoop in and buy at a big discount."  Yeah, about that....

As former prez Billy Jeff Clinton noted, "It's the economy, stupid...".  We'll continue to have minor corrections to the market, but the trend will continue upwards until the federal government decides to show some fiscal responsibly.  Can I see a show of hand from anyone that thinks that will be happening any time soon?  Hell, any time in the foreseeable future?

Something I've found very interesting is the increase in traffic from the local Air Force Base - Travis AFB.  Everyone from Airmen to full-bird colonels.  These guys are as tuned-in to the economy as anyone who enters our shop - probably more so.  These guys come in knowing they want PM's and just need some direction as to where to start and develop a personal strategy.  I can't even count the number of these guys that are selling their silver ETFs and buying physical.

Whether buying or selling, we give these guys a break on pricing, and the 'word' is apparently getting around the base.
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In speaking with our gold refinery, we're not alone.  Their intake has been off the rails.  Same story with our bullion wholesalers.
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A dissenting opinion: ("Why the gold bubble will soon burst").

Hey, they're college economics professors, so I guess they're smart.
“But in two, five or 10 years, prices could be lower than they are now. There’s a lot of fluctuation. Prices have gone from $200 an ounce to $1,800. That just can’t continue,” Thomas said.
Prices could be lower? Great prediction there, sport. They could also be higher, or they could be the same. Your insight is stunning.  Besides that tingling feeling running down your leg, what is the basis of your kinda-sorta prediction?

And O Wise One, explain why the run up can't continue. If the federal government continues to create money from nothing, PMs will continue to increase.

That's 'economics', ain't it?
As the federal government attempts to pay interest on its growing debt, Thomas said the chance of increased inflation will go up.

As this happens, gold prices may continue to fluctuate as investors pull money out of stocks.
Hey, cupcake, why do you think they're pulling their money from stocks? There's no THERE there. Business in America is sucking wind. The actions of the fedgov are making the business environment more difficult, not easier.

Why would you invest in the Titanic after it's already taking on water?
However, as the deficit slowly decreases, gold prices could fall by 50 per cent.
Huh?! 'Deficit' and 'decrease' in the same sentence? Don't you watch the news, read a magazine or glance at the Internet? Even with the most (supposedly) draconian budget proposal - Congressman Reid's - we still INCREASE the national debt by $5 TRILLION over the next decade.

In case it's not covered in one of the Keynesian economic books you use, the debt is the accumulation of the annual deficits. That means, on average, we'll be having annual deficits of a half trillion dollars a year for as far as the eye can see.

And if you think the fedgov will be able to control its spending to ONLY a half trillion bucks a year over incoming tax receipts, well, I've got some James Brady Signature Series Tactical Assault Rifles (TM) I can sell you... Great pricing, just mail me the cash, and James himself will deliver the rifles right to your front door. Promise.
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Now, with all that being said, will there be a market correction downward?  Probably.  Will it be the massive 30% drop that some bulls are predicting?  Probably not.  The economics simply don't support that happening.

In our PM shop, we're buying weaker (lower) than we normally do for bullion coins.  Our margins are tighter on bullion than it is on scrap gold, so we're covering out butts.

The benefit for our buying customers is that we're selling fractional gold coins (those under an ounce) at discounted premiums.  Where a quarter ounce coin would usually command a 10% or so premium over spot, we are selling them for 5%-8% depending on the country of origin.  A quickee survey of our online and brick-and-mortar competitors seems to indicate others are doing the same thing.

If you're thinking of buying gold, and are looking for fractional gold, now would be the time...
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In other news, I think I've mentioned in the past that one of my brothers is a Police Chief.

His department had recently set up booth at some community fair.  It's a part of his Community Policing strategy.  Get out, know the folks, work in concert with the community instead of in an adversarial position.  What a concept, huh?

So, at this booth, they had members of the SWAT team.  They were showing all of their gear, and were allowing folks in the neighborhood to (gasp!) handle the unloaded weapons.  The gall!

One of the people that handled an "assault rifle" was some kid.  With his parent's permission.  With his parents present.

Some gun-grabber snapped a picture of the kid with the rifle, and sent it to a gun grabber city supervisor.

Remembering that this is California, any guess how that turned out?  Yeah, it hit the fan.

My brother is pushing back, and fighting fire with fire.  Lots of radio and newspaper interviews.  He's got the mayor and some of the members of the city council backing him up.

This is so incredibly stupid, it hurts my head.  Clearly, the child needs to be removed from his home, and the parents thrown in the gulag for endangering him in such a careless manner.  Perhaps summer Re-Education Camps until he's 18.  I'm waiting for the Brady's and Mothers Against Killer Guns, Even Plastic Toy Ones to keep up the pressure.

Hang tough, bro...


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Copyright 2011 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Monday, August 8, 2011

"I'm Mellllllllttttttttingggggg!!!

An official, "holy crap!" - at this moment, gold is only $3.50 less per ounce than platinum.  A year ago, that difference was about $350 per ounce!

Of gold, silver, platinum and palladium, only gold is in a "bull" (upward trending) market right now.  The other three are in a "bear" market trend (for some reason I don't understand).

I believe we'll see a correction over the next couple of days with gold, but it will continue its upward overall trend until our government changes its inflationary/dollar devaluing policies.  I also think the other three precious metals will resume a bullish stance in the very near future.

This is obviously a very simplistic view of PMs, and I'm just some guy on the Internet - so don't sink money into anything without doing your own research.

That being said, if ANYONE out there has a differing point of view that has some logic associated with it, I honestly want to hear it.  At this point in time, I see nothing to stop all PMs from continuing their general upward trends.
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All of our global buddies - and our global creditors - were all lining up this weekend voicing their support of our debt.  In unison, they all say it's 'da bomb' and the best thing since sliced bread.  It was a regular love-fest.  The dollar is actually up in relation to most world currencies right now.

It will be interesting to see how willing they are to keep buying our debt paper.  Putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak. 

I think they will be much less enthusiastic in reality.  The Federal Reserve will be warming up the dollar presses (and the keyboards for the electronic version) to be the go-to guys for our debt.

I think the broader markets understand this, and that's why we're seeing this run-up in gold, and a cratering in paper wealth, such as stocks.  The Dow Jones average is right now down 370 points - almost ready to cross into the 10,000 range.
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I don't understand why crude oil is dropping like it is.  It's down to around $83 a barrel.  I heard some mention of an expected drop in global demand.  The "experts" are saying that gasoline should drop by 30 cents a gallon over the next couple of weeks.

Sweet!  I hope they're right.
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I swear, this is what it must have been like sitting on the deck of the Titanic watching the iceberg's approach.  The deckhands telling us to disregard that little "ice cube" out there, while touting the strength of the ship's superstructure.

"No chance of any harm, regardless of the dangerous path we're taking.  Dontcha know, this ship is too big to fail?"
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Just checked gold and platinum.  Gold is at $1718 and platinum is at $1717.  And the Dow is down 417, only 26 points from the 10,000 range.

The Wicked Witch is melting........


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Copyright 2011 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Graft and Guns

Hallelujah!  We've been saved.  Both houses of congress and the prez signed off on the debt ceiling bill and the world is once again humming along, smooth as can be.

THIS JUST IN!  Apparently, the rich bastards with money - you know, the ones that don't pay their fair share of taxes - disagree.  They all sold their stock and bought precious metals.

Waddup, dog?  I thought this "deal" was a give-away to the rich guys, and they'd be celebrating in the streets with this gift granted them by King Barry.  That's the impression you got when listening to the MSM after the deal was announced this weekend.

They're acting like they think this will negatively affect the dollar, the economy and the jobs market.  How can that be?  King Barry said the boo-boo was all better now...
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The picture up top (h/t to GunRightss4UsAll for the link) is from this posting [link] at USdebt.keptocracy.us providing us with a visualization of what millions, billions and trillions of dollars look like.  This picture, in particular, is what our national debt - roughly $15 trillion - looks like in $100 bills.

It's an eye-opener.  Wait until you see what the pile looks like when you've got all of our unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicare and the rest of the mess included.

We Be Screwed.
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BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!  Man, it sure hurts when a commie calls you out.  From Ruskie dictator Putin -
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is comparing the U.S. to a parasite following the debt limit debate -- quote -- "they are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy. They are living like parasites off the global economy and their monopoly of the dollar."
Now, Vlad, baby, it is OUR dollar to monopolize, nyet?  The rest of your commie rant?  Spot on...

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I got an interesting email from a woman who is signed up for this weekend's gun class.  She's wigging out!

I send all of my students a release form that basically says that they'll be around guns with live ammo and they could end up hurt or dead (wow, don't you wish attorney's could write that succinctly?).  She wanted to know if I do the class on a private basis, because she's afraid of being around so many newbie gun users.

I told her that when you're at a public range, you have no idea of the experience level of all of those shooters around you.  You're going to have professionals to novices, confident shooters to idiots showing off to their girlfriends (I keep my eyes GLUED to those guys when I'm in the range).

I explained that with this class, everyone will have just finished 2 1/2 hours of safety training.  No one in the range will be more conscious of the safety rules than she and her fellow classmates.

I told her I do teach the class on a one-on-one basis, but it will cost her about 3 times the amount of the class with other students.  And you just don't get as much from the private lessons.  Having fellow students pose questions and vent their fears or concerns has a LOT of value.

We'll see what she wants to do....
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Speaking of guns, I was working from my house today, and had an old episode of Perry Mason on the tube.  I was on the phone with one of my brothers, when I started yelling at the muted TV screen.

Some Bozo was shooting a pistol off the back patio of his home, when some lady walked up (his 'personal secretary' I presume).  He still has the gun in his hand and flashes the muzzle right across her chest as he is gesturing while sitting down.

Not two minutes later, another guy with another gun is greeted by some other guy, and he basically does the same thing.

Holy crap!  Drove me crazy.  Always the Chief Instructor, I guess... ;-)
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Another interesting tidbit from the show:  During the trial, Perry makes note that there was only one murder bullet, but two murder guns (queue dramatic music).  The bad guy switched the slide and barrel from the murder gun and put it on the same model of gun that was owned by his client.

The interesting note was the comment that Perry made while selling his idea - "I went down to the store and bought this gun today..."  What?  California used to be a free state?  Be still my beating heart...
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I sent my above-mentioned student some statistical information on gun safety.  If you haven't been there in a while, drop by Gun Facts [link - PDF].  They have a buttload of gun-related facts - all of which are included with citations so you can verify any fact presented with your own two eyes.

My favs are the Accidental Death and Concealed Carry sections.  I love seeing gun-grabbers stumblin', bumblin' and fumblin' when you present them with facts, and not "It's for the children!" stories.

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Copyright 2011 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com