Skills: 12 For '13

 Like most folks, when the end of the year rolls around, I start making lists of things I want to get done for the coming year.  I personally find that if I make lists, I tend to do much better hitting my marks.

So, in the spirit of giving, I'm not going to give you a specific list, but some guidelines.  Using our "12 Impacts" approach to prepping (there are only 12 possible impacts from any sort of emergency or disaster), here are some ideas for skill building everyone should consider for 2013.

Note, it's skill building, not going out and buying a gadget.  Gadgets can get lost, stolen, or fail.  Skills give you the ability to adapt to your circumstances.

Come on - it's not that tough.  Build one new skill once a month.

Push yourself!  Develop skills in areas where you suck.  If you're a big gun guy, don't learn 6 new ways to hide a pistol on your person.  Instead learn how to set a broken bone, or make a shirt from cloth and thread.

I've got posts on a number of these items, which you can read by clicking here.

Broaden your horizons.  Try to do one out of each category.  For most folks, number 10 will be the most difficult, so make sure you do it!  Barter and negotiating are outside of the comfort zone of so many people.  Remember:  The worst that will happen is the person you're negotiating with will say No.

Or would you rather try dumpster diving, or gathering recyclables?   I've got to tell you, we have a growing number of folks coming into my precious metals store doing the whole, "hunting and gathering" gig with all types of recyclables, including gold and silver trinkets they find.  Most are earning a couple hundred dollars a week through all of their finds.  Great skill and a great way to build your war chest for buying prepping gear you can't negotiate for.

Here's the list and some suggestions to get your juices flowing...

1. No Potable Water - build a sand and charcoal filter; make charcoal; make a solar still; learn how to locate water in all types of terrain;
2. No Food - learn the local edible "weeds" and other flora in your area and make a salad; learn how to make 3 kinds of snares; learn to kill and clean a fish; learn how to kill and clean a small mammal;  ferment food scraps into alcohol;
3. No Shelter (from elements) - build and test a debris shelter; learn the knots necessary to set up a tarp shelter, then set one up; sew together a simple hat from some simple cloth;  learn to water proof cloth;
4. Lack of Safety and Security - learn to accurately shoot one handed;  learn to shoot with your weak-side hand; learn basic striking techniques for quickly disabling an attacker; learn about boobie traps and early warning devices; learn to load your own ammo
5. No Public Utilities (electricity, gas, sanitation) - learn 2 ways on how to make fire without using matches or lighters; learn how and where to make an outdoor toilet;
   
6. No Communication Services - learn about and practice a "dead drop"; become a ham radio operator; learn Morse code;
7. Toxic Airborne Contaminants - make a homemade gas mask; learn to "air proof" a room in your home;
8. Restricted Travel - make a drag sled; map a route through a city that bypasses all public and private cameras; hike 10 miles with a pack equal to 50% of your body weight; learn how to siphon gasoline;  learn how to use a compass;  learn how to read and use a topographical map;
9. No Access to Professional Medical Services - learn indigenous medicinal plants and how to prepare them; learn how to set a compound fracture; learn how to clean and close a wound; learn how to stop bleeding; learn how to open a breathing channel;
10. No Money - practice bartering (without using cash) at garage sales and flea markets; learn how to dumpster dive;  identify and collect the most abundant and the most valuable items in your area that can be gathered and sold to recyclers;
11. Lost Records - make a "Survival Bible" and put it in paper and electronic media; make copies of your most important documents - driver's license, birth certificate, mortgage papers, etc. - and put them in a geographically distant location;
12. Mental Health/Spirituality - learn and store games that need no electronics (dice, cards, board games);  learn games that need no tools (hide-n-go-seek, for instance);  memorize important passages from your religious text of choice;  learn about and gather flora that contains calming/soothing properties;  learn 5 yoga poses;

Everyone's list will be different.  None of us knows what kind of emergency or disaster may hit.  We don't know the breadth and depth of the impact.  We don't know where we'll be when it hits.

So we look a probabilities, at least in the beginning.  Once we acquire some skills, goods and equipment, we tend to increase our resources to cover more dire events.  It never seems as though anything is enough.  I don't know if this is good or bad, it just is.


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Copyright 2012 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

Still Here

I still have a dinner with my mom this evening, so there's still time.... ;-)


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Copyright 2012 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

'Tragedies Must End'

Thank you, Mr. President, thank you.

Thank you for recognizing that there are sick, unstable, homicidal citizens among us - crazy bastards that will slaughter children for some perceived injustice.

Thank you for having the courage to propose laws that will reverse this insane trend of disarming the good, decent citizens among us.

Thank you for proposing a reversal of laws - such as the one in Connecticut [link] - that specifically bans the most effective means of self-defense - firearms - from government institutions that house our most vulnerable and defenseless citizens... our children while they are in school.

Thank you for understanding that establishing "Gun Free Zones" is like laying out a Welcome mat for criminals and the criminally insane.  You've seen with your own eyes that these tragedies don't occur at places known to have firearms, such as police stations, firing ranges and gun shops.

Thank you for instructing your Attorney General to sue states that enact laws which are in direct conflict with the second amendment.  The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed does not have a qualifying statement excluding certain government facilities, such as our schools.

Thank you for recognizing that if the selfless, heroic principal at the school had not been prohibited by law from coming to the rescue of her students with a 12-gauge shotgun instead of unarmed, the carnage inflicted in Connecticut would have been significantly reduced.  We could be celebrating her heroism with a parade instead of mourning her death with a funeral procession.

Thank you for screaming at the top of your lungs that if there had been more guns present at the school - in the hands of properly trained teachers - instead of none, this horrible tragedy visited upon us by an insane person might have never happened.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for using your Bully Pulpit to drill it into our nation's thick head that our current laws contributed to the scope of this tragedy.  Instead of 27 dead teachers and students, we'd have one dead guy at the gates of the school.

Indeed, these "Tragedies must end".  You have it in your power to influence legislation that reverses the disarmament of the vast majority of US citizens, while doing nothing to take guns from the hands of the mentally ill among us.  You've seen how states that have enacted, 'Shall Issue' or 'Constitutional Carry' laws have all seen decreases in violent crime.  Without exception.

Good luck, Mr. President, in doing the right thing, and getting our current unreasonable gun laws overturned so that tragedies such as this are never visited upon our nation again..

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Copyright 2012 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

Race And Business

If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know I'm not especially Politically Correct.  I calls 'em like I sees 'em.  What follows is partially based on my 30+ years of banking experience - specifically in my capacity ranging from being a loan underwriter up to being the Chief Credit Officer - in total, about 8 of those 30 years.  Does this make it Gospel?  No, but considering all of this experience occurred in the SF Bay Area - one of the most racially diverse areas of this country - it will give you a hell of an insight into race and business.

The individual who can do something that the world wants done will, in the end, make his way regardless of his race.

--Booker T. Washington

When I was writing the post, The Alluring Call of Socialism, there was a big racial component to what's happening.  In my opinion, the socialist are using race as their tool to divide our country.  They have successfully convinced blacks and Hispanics that they are victims.  Vote for us, we'll give you stuff from the evil white overlords who robbed you of your chance for greatness.

Never mind that the nearly 50 year experiment with Affirmative Action has proven to be a colossal failure.  Blacks, in particular, have grown accustom to being given stuff - and the need to provide for ones self has evaporated.  The only requirement for continued payouts is loyalty at the ballot box.

Their community has been decimated.  Approximately 3/4 of their babies are born out of wedlock.  A disjointed home life - no sense of family - draws them towards gangs or "the hive" to fill that gap in their lives.

They make up approximately 13% of the population, yet are rapidly approaching 40% of welfare recipients.  The numbers are virtually identical for incarceration rates.

The great socialist experiment with blacks is a failure in its entirety.  Hispanics are trending in the same direction.  If their "leaders" continue to covet cultural victimhood as is so warmly embraced by the black community, they too can expect similar outcomes.
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A whining, crying race may be pitied but is seldom respected.
--Booker T. Washington

I was thinking about the racial profiles of the folks that own businesses in the center where we've got our precious metals store.  With only one exception, all of the business owners are either white or Asian.

If you look up the federal statistics [private study in PDF], 11% of white workers are business owners.  Only 5% of blacks own businesses.  Average white business have sales of over $400,000.  The average black business has sales of around $74,000.  Huge differences.

And then there are Asians.  One of the smallest ethnic groups in the nation (less than 5% of the US population) is also one of the most successful.  So successful, in fact, that the race-baiters have had to come up with a new social tag for blacks and Hispanics.  Instead of being called simple 'minorities', they're now called 'disadvantaged minorities'.

Disadvantaged!?  Are you serious?  Blacks are the most advantaged minority group in the history of the nation.  Never has so much been given to so few who personally endured no injustice.  But I digress.

Asians business statistics are on par or superior to white business statistics in virtually every category.  How could this teeny tiny minority group absolutely crush these larger minority groups?

It's as simple and as complicated as one single word:  Culture.  Their families, friends and community,  regardless of social strata, expect - no, demand - success.

Instead of a culture that celebrates, 'Keeping It Real', they embrace Tiger Moms.  Where Asians heap scorn on their youth for educational failure, blacks deride and ridicule their contemporaries for 'Acting White' when a black kid chooses the un-cool path of academics.

A concept drilled into the brains of successful groups is that of sacrifice.  If you want success, you're going to have to give up a lot of things.  Sacrifice now for something better in the future.

You can stay home and study for the algebra test, or you can go to a party.

You can spend every dime you own on boats, cars and clothing, or you can save it for investments or to start a business.

You can spend hours playing video games, or you can spend hours reading about business success stories.

Everyone in this country has the exact same number of hours available to them.  How you choose to use those hours is up to you.  You can choose to emulate the strategies and actions of successful people, or you can emulate the strategies and actions of The In Crowd.
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A bit of insight into my experience with the psyche of different Asian groups:  I've had the most experience with three groups - Indians, Chinese and Filipinos.

Indians were almost exclusively in the services field, primarily in lodging and food service.  I can't tell you how many Indians came to my banks for refinancing that started their businesses with credit cards.  They'll do cash advances on 10 credit cards, and buy a business.  I have seen dozens of dumpy motels bought with credit cards.

This is a low risk/high cost strategy.  If you default on making your credit card payments, nothing is taken from you, as credit cards are unsecured funds.  But they're very costly, so your income margins are very thin.

So, the entire family moves into the motel, thus eliminating their housing expense.  They then use sweat equity to clean up the motel and increase revenue.  Once it's "cash flowing", they'd come to us for refinancing.

They'd run it for a few more years, continually upgrading the facilities with one goal in mind:  To qualify to become a "flag ship" motel - becoming part of a national chain.  If they got the nod, we'd happily refinance them again for additional improvements.

Typically, they'd then sell the motel, and upgrade to a better flag ship company - i.e., going from Motel 6 to Holiday Inn Express.
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Chinese, well, they're just crazy!  They are fearless.  They will put everything they own on the line.  They're willing to make a big bet to get a big payout, even if that means crashing and burning and losing everything.

When they'd come to us for a loan, we'd see a number of business failures in their past.  As a result, many times, their credit scores were horrible.  When you crash and burn, everything tends to get trashed, including their personal credit scores.

As a result, with these loans, we'd have to ensure we were FULLY secured, and we'd have loan covenants requiring regular monthly or quarterly financial statements and regular site visits to the business (this was obviously done for any borrower with similar business financials - Chinese just happened to be a large portion of this type).

Very often, they would sell these businesses as soon as they were gushing money to "cash out" and move on to something else.  I think they like the thrill of the hunt more than actually getting the brass ring in their grasp!
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Filipinos are the lowest risk-takers of the bunch.  They've mastered the concept of sweat equity.  They very rarely would go "all in" on a project - always keeping cash and assets in reserve.  But they will spend 20 hours a day, 7 days a week to build a business.  Mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, kids, cousins, aunt, uncles - the ENTIRE extended family pitched in.

By having this large pool of mostly free labor to draw upon, most everyone could hold a "normal" job or two, and devoted their off-hours to the new business.  For instance, mom and cousin work the business during the day, and work swing shift hours at a salaried job.  Dad and uncle work regular day jobs, and prep/build/manufacture/maintain the business during the evening hours.  Grandma, grandpa were used as needed, and the kids were pressed into service whenever they weren't in school.
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All three Asian groups employ very different strategies, but all are successful.  The common thread is a culture that recognizes that sacrifice will lead to success.

Much (most?) of the black and a growing portion of white culture are unwilling to sacrifice.  Poor blacks largely because of the indoctrination of economic dependency, and upper-middle class whites largely because of Helicopter Mom-ism.  Both of these groups have grown used to being cared for, and are unfamiliar with the concept of sacrifice.

Hispanics used to be as business driven as whites and Asians.  Many still are, but sadly, as a group, they're rapidly drifting towards the much easier path of economic dependency.   I pray that Hispanic leaders will help to steer their followers away from the path chosen by black leaders such as Sharpton and Jackson.  There is still a chance to keep them from this disastrous path.

There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs-partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.
--Booker T. Washington

Accept The Challenge

So how do we preppers - regardless of our race or ethnicity - use this information to benefit our lives?

The quickest way to build wealth is to own your own business.  You may have current commitments that don't allow you to quit your job and go out on your own.  But, you CAN start the process part-time and eventually take it full-time.

Get educated and get the right mindset.  Start by reading, Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.  The book is actually more about setting goals and teaching you how to reach them.  I can tell you from personal experience that it works.

If you know nothing about running a business, get thee to the Small Business Administration (SBA).  They have TONS of free resources to help you start and run a business.  If you're near a large city, they have offices with folks to help you.  Also look for SCORE centers.  These are staffed by retired businesspeople that can act as mentors for your business.

Two key areas where people fail are in marketing and accounting.  You may have the greatest product or service ever invented, but if you can't get people to buy it, you're sunk.  Know how to reach your target markets.

Similarly, once the money starts flowing, you must know how to account for it, which products are most profitable, and how to project for future growth needs.

Don't scrimp on your education on either of these points.

And of course, expect to make sacrifices.  Time, money, energy will all be sucked from you at an alarming rate.  But, with proper planning and knowledge, you can limit the impact and timeframe of these sacrifices.

Lastly, be prepared to be flexible.  As opportunities appear and disappear, you want your business to be nimble enough to move away from sink holes and steered towards profitable lines.

What's the saying?  Luck equals preparation plus opportunity.

Go get lucky!

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Copyright 2012 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

You're Just Kulak To Them

[Please, don't bust my chops over semantics in this post.  I use 'socialism', 'Marxism' and 'communism' interchangeably.  They all embrace the idea that the hive, village or group are more important than the individual, and we all have an obligation - always forced upon us - to maintain the hive.] 

Note:  I've been sitting on this post for 3 days.  I've read it and re-read it.  It sounds bat-dung crazy to suggest and plan for the US to head down this path.  But I can't see a way out.  How do you feed a nation that increasingly becomes dependent upon the State for its survival?

The goal of socialism is communism.
--Lenin

In the last post, I discussed the Alluring Call Of Socialism.  On paper, it sounds sweet to huge numbers of people.  In practice, not so much.

Socialism has always ended the same way.  With a totalitarian state.  Everything is eventually nationalized.  Land, business, all personal property.  It's all for the good of the state.

Preppers and independent people ultimately strive to have land and property to maintain our independence.  We buy land, equipment, seeds, animals, weapons, etc., to allow us to live that independent lifestyle.  In America, you're not guaranteed wealth and independence, you're guaranteed the opportunity for wealth and independence.  Many Americans are willing to work hard to meet those two goals.

It's the reason people come to America.  To build a life of freedom and prosperity.

But that doesn't mesh with the communist ideology.  In fact, it's in direct conflict with that ideology.  You work for the state, not for yourself.  The hive is more important than the bee.

In countries such as the US, or entire regions, such as the EU, the state starts the application of this ideology via taxation.  It starts slowly, and gradually grows.

During the debates about whether the sixteenth amendment should be ratified (allowing for income tax), the proponents stated that the tax rate would never exceed 2%, I believe.  Now, in addition to the constitutionally allowed excise taxes, we have more taxes and fees than you can follow.  Gas tax, sales tax, a zillion telecommunications taxes, building permits, sewer fees, real estate taxes, business asset taxes, business license fees - it never ends.

In our precious metals business, I have sales tax, business license tax, special business district taxes, second-hand dealer tax, alarm tax, fire service tax, payroll tax, state income tax, federal income tax, all the telecommunications taxes, all of the gas and electric taxes, non-salable asset taxes, certified scale taxes, weighmaster taxes, and indirectly, the property tax paid by the landlord, via our lease payments.  These are just the taxes that come immediately to mind.

The socialist government wonks use propaganda to brainwash us into believing that the hive is more important than the bee.  We saw this when Barry Obama made the comment about how successful businesses didn't get there by themselves, but through the generosity and guidance of the state.

Jake Tapper of ABC news perhaps presented the view of the state most accurately -

The president’s argument, which is similar to one made by Massachusetts Senate candidate (now senator-elect  .ed) Elizabeth Warren, revolves around the idea that business people need the infrastructure provided by the government in order to succeed. [emphasis added]

To anyone with more than two gray cells to rub together, this is a laughable statement.  The government doesn't provide anything.  They don't earn money to build roads, they take it.  Your money.  My money.  Our money.  The roads weren't provided by some altruistic donation from a private charity that is owed thanks.  The government simply did their job!

But the hive needs more honey, and you've gotta give it up.

Soon enough, the cashflow starts to dry up, and the wonks need to get creative.  A great example is what they're now kicking around with regards to the gas tax.  Since cars now get better gas mileage  people don't need as much of the stuff.  That cuts into tax revenues.

Now, they're talking about changing the tax to a "miles driven" model.  Expect some sort of government controlled odometer to be installed on all cars sometime in the near future.

Perhaps the greatest "creative response" to the need for more taxes is to promote and successfully enact a tax on air.  The socialists call it, Cap and Trade.

The public sales-job started with the idea that carbon dioxide is causing the planet to heat up.  Despite being roundly disproven and exposed as a fraud of the first order, the wonks convinced enough soft-headed citizens and politicians to pass Cap and Trade laws.  All under the guise that they were saving the planet.

You don't even need to scratch under the surface to obliterate this scam.  They fairly admit it's nothing more than a dollar grab.

All of these programs work like this:  Some government agency sets a number for the tonnage of CO2 that a company can release into the air.  Like the fraud recently conducted first auction here in California (thanks Arnold), your business is given a certain credit by the taxing authority.  If you release in excess of the allotment, you can get back into the good graces of the wonks in one of two ways.

First you can buy credits from another company that doesn't need all of their allotment.  You'll do this via exchanges that will facilitate these swaps.  For a fee.  This is the business Al "Mr. Hockey Stick" Gore started.  What a great stroke of luck that was, huh?  Stir this shit up, and make a profit from it!  Genius.

The other way is to buy more credits from the government entity charged with setting the CO2 levels.  Yes, you can buy your way out of it directly with the government.

If the government was so concerned with global warming, beach front property in the Rockies and the impending end of the planet, why in God's name would they allow these horrible, polluting companies to toss the wonks a few pieces of silver?

Because it's not about the environment, it's about tax revenues.  Period, end of story.  California tax receipts, for instance, will net a cool billion dollars a year for the criminals in Sacramento.
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Here's where it starts to get scary.  This is where the self-reliant homesteaders and preppers start really feeling the bite of the wonks.  It's also where people on both sides of the equation start dying, and not from old age.

Eventually, the tax dollars stop increasing despite the wonks dogged efforts to keep 'em flowing.  The State keeps increasing its need for funding, but the well is getting dry.  There's just nothing left to tax.

So, like every socialist regime before it, the new one starts nationalizing.  Businesses first, then private property.

This isn't scare tactics.  This isn't boogie-man stuff.  It's a logical progression, and it's in your history books.


Marx, Engels et al, understood the need for productive farmland.  Your title deed is hereby invalidated and your land liberated for the people!

The Russians called it 'kulak'.  You have more than someone else, so you're portrayed as greedy - tight fisted, to be literal.  For the good of the hive, your property is liberated.

Both peasants and Soviet officials were often uncertain as to what constituted a kulak. They often used the term to label anyone who had more property than was considered "normal," according to subjective criteria, and personal rivalries played a part in the classification of enemies.

Hmm, I'd guess that anything is considered more than 'normal' by the folks who have nothing other than the Government Teat in their mouth.

Or perhaps they'll just follow the lead of Future Chairman Mao in China.  In part -

Land reform in a new Liberated Area should be divided into two stages. In the first stage strike blows at the landlords and neutralize the rich peasants. This stage is to be sub-divided into several steps; strike blows at the big landlords first, and then at the other landlords. Treatment must be different for those who are local tyrants and those who are not, and different also for big, middle and small landlords. The second stage is the equal distribution of land, including the land rented out by the rich peasants and their surplus land.

Yeah.  The 'rich peasants' and their surplus land.

Accept The Challenge

Whoa.  What now?  All of those self-sufficient fantasies evaporating right in front of our eyes.

So how does this proceed?  If the nightmare scenario of nationalizing all private assets is the ultimate goal, the PTB will want to lay the ground work to make resistance less difficult.  Gun control is the first and most obvious avenue.  Make it more difficult for individuals to possess guns and ammo.

Logic and empirical data tell us that an armed society is a much safer society.  Every state that enacted 'Shall Issue' CCW laws saw drops in crime, and particularly in violent crime.  The data is irrefutable.

And irrelevant.

The Diane Feinstein's of the world will go to the grave working to paint guns as bad, and using the MSM propaganda machine to sell their vision.  Families that lost family members to gun violence (ala Brady Bunch) will be trotted out in public to sell their snake oil.

And the majority of the public will buy it.  "Who needs a weapon of war, like an AK47 or AR15?  Their only purpose is to kill people!"

So, tighter gun control (and ammo control) - even more than now - will be one of the signals.

Tied to that is a beefing up of domestic police forces.  Why in Gods Name does every Mayberry RFD need a tactical armored personnel carrier?  And a SWAT team?  And a sniper squad?  And riot gear for every officer?

They don't, unless it's in anticipation for some out-of-the-norm civil unrest.  The Talking Points are that the gear and squads are for terrorism.  Well, when much of your citizenry is considered to be a possible terrorist, I guess the term kind of loses its common meaning.  If you own guns, have food and equipment storage, and are vociferous about your disgust with our government, you and everyone like you are all considered potential terrorists.

This is already happening all over our country.  This tipping point has already tipped.  The facade of safety against terrorism is being chugged by the masses like a drunk with his Ripple.  This was easy to accomplish, as it didn't directly affect any citizen.  Genius.  Stock up the local police all you want, and until the hammer is used against the masses, no one cares.  Hey, no harm, no foul, right?

They've now strengthened their offensive capabilities, and weakened your defensive capabilities.  Time to start grabbing assets in earnest.

The business nationalization will be the first indication. It will be big stuff. Oil, coal, transportation, telecommunications, banking. Infrastructure stuff.  Washington DC knows how to better run these industries, and the proceeds will now go to all of the peeps, not just to the greedy businessmen that started the companies.

When they're done with the businesses, they'll start going after the real property of individuals. They'll come for our private farms, homesteads and the like.  Anything that might be able to be farmed, as per items 1, 4, 7 and 9 of the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto.

This is the one that we preppers will need to worry about.  The indicator will be when they start taxing you for items you produce for your own consumption. The vegetables you raise, the eggs you gather, the steer you slaughter. The thinking is, just like going to a regular job, your efforts produced something, and you were paid for your efforts. In this case via turnips and hamburger. That's income, and it needs to be taxed.

Oh, and you clearly don't need all of that food you're producing, so we'll just liberate the excess. Have a nice day, comrade.  The only legal foundation they need to take your property is the desire to take it.

I see two possible outs for us.

First, buy land that is only marginally arable or productive (i.e., for cattle).  Make it remote and acidic or alkaline  land where with a good bit of effort via composting, and creative use of water and greenhouses can be productive on a small scale.  Think the Northern Nevada, Eastern Washington State, Eastern Oregon, Southern Idaho and Northern Utah desert areas (most of Survivalblog's 'American Redoubt').  Sorry, I don't include Texas, New Mexico, California or Arizona deserts, because I think they're going to be overrun by what we currently call Illegal Aliens, and which will then be called "Dream Act" Reconquistadors.

Make the land only produce enough for your immediate family.  No more.  Make it land - like the Gaza strip - where the Israeli government gave the Palestinians the land, but since they had no idea how to keep it productive, it crapped out.  Make the land unattractive to the socialists and their need to fill the bellies of many people.  Make the cost/benefit calculation tip to the negative.

The other option is much more risky.  Much more.  And it requires accumulating a LOT of like-minded individuals being in one region.  More than I think is possible, really.

You would need an area filled with individuals - and state and local governments - that would be willing to fight for their land together.  It could include all of the aforementioned land and perhaps include the Dakota's, Montana and Wyoming.  I hesitate with these last 4 states, as the wheat growing and pasture lands might be valuable enough for the socialists to fight for in earnest.  Also, with the Bakken Formation (oil and gas) in Montana and North Dakota, the PTB won't give them up so easily.

So, we're talking secession of a huge chunk of America, and I just don't know how realistic that would be.  I think it would only have a chance if, unlike the Civil War, it was fought like the mujaheddin against the USSR and the US in Afghanistan.  Asymmetrical warfare.

You punch them in the gonads, then melt into the woodwork.  You poke them in the eye, then vaporize.   

Bleed them to death.  Death by a thousand cuts.  Death by public political pressure -  It just ain't worth the effort.

This is my personal plan.  Tucked away in some corner of Idaho with the hopes that if this nightmare comes to fruition, there will be enough like-minded folks in the area willing to make life difficult for the PTB.
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I know many of you that already have productive farms and homesteads are saying that you'll draw a line in the sand, and fight to the death.  That will be fine by the PTB.  They'll expend very little effort, you'll be dead, and they'll have your land.

And that accomplished, what?  A 'moral victory'?

A toe-to-toe conflict ends up with you dead.  Quickly.  But a generation-long blood-letting has a chance.  And maybe your kids and grandkids will have something left to re-claim after the communist system collapses.

And they always collapse.
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The zillion dollar question is, "When is this going to happen?"  I think it will be some time after the dollar collapses, which I thought would have happened by now.  Uncle Ben Bernanke and Company have been fortunate that Europe is in such a mess, as it's helped prop up the buck.

But the fundamentals of the dollar are doomed, and our country has an insurmountable amount of debt.  When you work in the hundreds of trillions in unfunded liabilities with Social Security and Medicare, our way of economic life is toast.  You can't tax enough to ever meet these obligations.  It's impossible.

So there will be defaults in public debt and promises, and the government will be forced to take what it needs.

My crystal ball simply isn't strong enough to call when that happens - just that it will happen.
---

You see, it always comes down to money.  They want what you've earned.  Your job is to keep it yourself.

Reduce the amount of taxes you pay.  Legally or illegally - your choice.  Positives and negatives with either option, but we must have the goal of Starving The Beast.

Hide or disguise your accumulated wealth.  Have it in a bank, and it's as good as gone.  You've willingly provided an accounting of how much is available for the taking.  If you have a big pile of cash that suddenly disappears, they'll come looking for you.  Bet on it.

Start NOW with ways to keep your money under wraps.  Precious metals are your best bet here.  Valuable and portable.

Establishing those Multiple Streams of Income will help you to thrive.  Seriously, get on this now.

And "lose" some guns and ammo.  You'll need to find them again in the future.

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Copyright 2012 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

The Alluring Call Of Socialism

When a business looks to sell its product, it does something called, 'target marketing'.  You identify your potential buyers, determine what they care about, and you tell them that your product meets their needs.

A car manufacturer may have an SUV they're looking to sell.  To men, they may tout how this big vehicle handles like a sports car, yet can pull a big ol' boat.  Show footage of the SUV flying up a windy country road towing a fishing boat.

To women, you might focus on the exemplary safety record, the big comfortable seats, and the integrated DVD player for the kids in the back.  Add footage of the plush interior of the vehicle with the perfectly behaved kiddies, all in their car seats, being anesthetized by the DVD player.

Sale!

The Democrats understand this concept.  Carve off a group, build a sales pitch, and sell it.  Here is the key to it all:  With each of their target markets, they identify the one or two key points that the group cares about, and they hammer it home.

You never, ever come off message.

They started with ethnicities.

Blacks.  Marketing Pitch:  You've been abused and discriminated against forever.  Vote for us, and we'll fix the wrongs brought upon you and your ancestors.

Hispanics.  Marketing Pitch:  Love of family - even the extended Hispanic family.  Repubs want to keep you out.  When you're in, we give you Sanctuary Cities, we write laws prohibiting our police departments from turning you in to the federal authorities.  We'll protect su familia.

Then, you hit the Cross-over groups - 

Women.  Marketing Pitch:  You are the equal or better of any man in the workplace.  Your body is your own - no man can tell you what you can do with it.

Youth.  Marketing Pitch:  We're the cool, loving and inclusive group.  We want to invest in your future, so we'll give you easy access to grants and loans.

Private union members.  Marketing Pitch:  We will protect your right to organize so you can get your fair share - a living wage - from the evil, rich business owners.

Public union members.  Marketing Pitch:  Vote for us, and keep your job, get regular raises, a killer retirement plan and we'll make it virtually impossible for you to be fired.  Guaranteed, lucrative income for life.

LGBT.  Marketing Pitch:  You should be able to marry anyone you wish.

Anti-war.  Marketing pitch:  The only reason Republicans want to send you/your children to war is to pay off their evil, rich corporate handlers.

The only group not specifically targeted are independent, successful white males.  They don't need anything from government.  So they're demonized.  They're the evil rich with all of the money needed to pay the bills.  The Dems just need the political power to take it from them so you can have more stuff given to you.
---

No matter what your competitor throws at you, you counter with some variant of your target message.  For instance, in the recent election, the Republicans main selling point was, "The economy is in the crapper, Obama has done nothing but make it worse, and Mitt can fix it."

The Democrats countered that Mitt would take welfare from poor blacks, take freedom from poor Hispanics just trying to feed their families, take loans and grants from students, take abortions from women, etcetera, etcetera.

Mitt will take from you, Obama will give to you.

What the Dems have done is to successfully sell the idea that The State is the parent, the family, the provider, in the minds of all of these groups.  As a child, if you've had a Helicopter Mom for your entire life - covering your every need and ensuring you never have a negative outcome -  do you think your instinct will be to break away from this warm, comfortable place?  Of course not.
---

Bill O'Reilly made a comment about what happened to the Republicans that I think is nothing more than wishfull thinking -

The good news for the Republicans is that the pressure is now on President Obama and the Democrats. If the economy doesn't improve dramatically over the next four years, the Democratic Party will evaporate -- as simple as that.

Sorry.  Not gonna happen.  On the national stage, the game is over.  The Republicans just don't get it.  They don't have an answer to the Democrat sales pitch of, "Vote for us and we'll give you things."  Libertarian-leaning people like me are considered freaks who just don't get it.  Personal freedoms AND responsibility?  Naw, too much work.

The majority of people have shown they have no need or desire to have to struggle to pay their bills, struggle to become rich, struggle to pay for college, struggle to be independent.  Why struggle and have the risk of failure and pain, when you can get by - comfortably enough - by voting Democrat?

For now, the Republican message works in much of "fly-over country" but there aren't enough electoral college votes in those states to turn the tide.   The big cities in these state still vote comfortably Democrat.

Seriously, on a national level, it's over.
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You all need to watch California for what will eventually happen to our nation. 

On election day, in addition to voting to increase our taxes once again via the our Proposition process, my fellow citizens did something much more frightening.  Our state Assembly and state Senate has long been dominated by Democrats.  They've run the joint into the ground, taking us from being one of the crown jewels of this nation in terms of the economy, education and insight, into the bottom of the barrel.  So, despite a decimated state economy, obscene taxes at every level, government intrusiveness in every aspect of our lives, my fellow citizens rewarded the Democrats by giving them a Super Majority in both state legislative houses.

For decades, we've had laws that required a 2/3 vote by both houses before they could raise taxes.  This has held them at bay, until now.  With the new Super Majority, this is no longer an issue.  They can do as they wish.

They have wrecked the state, but were rewarded with more power.  They just had to promise more stuff to the peeps.
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"But Chief, it will all collapse.  Every socialist/communist economy ever constructed has collapsed under its own weight.  The same will happen here.  That's when the people will See The Light and we'll turn things around."

Perhaps.  But no one reading this today will likely see that day.

My next post will lay out my vision for what's going to happen to our country over the next few decades.  It's not rocket science, and it's not pretty.  And I'm afraid it's unstoppable.

I have a request, though.  Prove me wrong.  Point me in another direction.  Show me a scenario where this socialist slide is stopped.  Tell me how a society where the majority believes themselves to be a victim due recompense, is convinced to give up their "claim".

Logic is not a viable alternative.  If logic prevailed, California would be a solidly red state after the decades of decline we've endured at the hands of the Democrats.  If logic prevailed, America would have thrown the Charlatan In Chief out on his ear.

The "masses" are hearing the call of the socialist.  Everyone gets equal outcomes.  Everyone is cared for.  Everyone is protected.  It's an alluring call for many.  Apparently, for most.

They just don't immediately recognize the cost that will be due in the future.  Someone's got to pay for all the goodies they're getting.

And one way or another, it will be them.

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Copyright 2012 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

Ramblin's

I don't know if I'm just a heartless ass (I can live with that), but when I see these people in NY, NJ, CT bitching and moaning and whining that the government isn't moving quickly enough to restore their Dependent Class lives, I feel nothing but anger and contempt.

Not pity.  Not compassion.  But contempt.

You incompetent, soft, lazy, Me Generation, IDIOTIC Sons of Bitches knew this mega-storm was coming.  The entire nation knew it was coming 10 days in advance.  Four days in advance, we all knew it was going to be an ass-kicker.

Like a normal, rational, thinking human being, did you decide to get as far away from danger as possible?  No, you decided to stick around.  I now see your whiny mug on TV crying about your lack of utilities, food and water.  Boo-hoo-hoo!   YOU put yourself into this situation, YOU get yourself out. 

And shut the hell up about it.
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Since I'm in a puppy kicking and insect-wing pulling mood, I'm really getting sick of everyone and everything being a 'hero' or 'heroic'.

In my mind, a hero is someone who - in an extraordinary, selfless act - puts their life at risk for the life of another.  So, contrary to what we heard during October's Breast Cancer Awareness month, just because you got and beat cancer doesn't make you a hero.

You're tough, resilient, determined, and brave for facing an event that could easily take your life.  But you're not a hero.  Just because you're a cop, or fire fighter or in the military, does not make you a hero.

A hero is a citizen who enters his neighbor's burning home and pulls everyone out.  A hero is a cop who dives into freezing water to pull a child from the water.  A hero is a soldier dives on a grenade or charges a hill by himself so his fellow soldiers may live.

We lessen the concept and importance of heroism when we attach it to any difficult task.
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Speaking of words, I HATE the word, 'empower'.  "She attended the class and now feels empowered to lose 50 pounds".  Or start a business.  Or change her hair color.  Or date a new guy.

It seems to mostly be used by women.  When I glance at anything Oprah says, writes or does, it seems like "empowered" is at the heart of it.

Really?  It strikes me as having gotten permission, or something along those lines.  Why can't you just say, "She felt fat and out of shape, so she decided to drop some pounds."?  Nope.  Unless you've been empowered by some mystical class or chant or role model, you're doomed to failure.

Please.
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After Barry wins (Electoral College for sure, popular vote maybe), is anything going to change in your immediate future?  I'm hoping to buy at least one gun tomorrow - two if possible (a long gun and a handgun), and I'll squirrel away a bit more ammo, but other than that, it's going to be Prepping As Usual.

I think Barry may move to restrict access to guns, so I don't want to get caught without the last couple of purchases on my To Do list.  Other than that, I think the economy is screwed beyond repair, and there is nothing Mitt could do that would stop it.  He might have been able to slow the bleeding a bit, but not stop it.  So whether Barry or Mitt wins, my life will be about the same.  Economy, USA PATRIOT Act, NDAA, QEIII - both Mitt and Barry read from the same script.

Don't fool yourself into thinking Mitt would be your savior.
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Most of you probably don't pay much attention to detailed California politics, but we've got a couple of competing "tax enhancement" propositions on the ballot.  According to the pollsters, it looks like one or both may pass.

Gawd, I'm surrounded by mouth-breathing inbreds.  Apparently, the "school children will be kicked to the curb if we don't vote this in," advertisements have worked as hoped.  The Government schools won't see one more dime than they're now getting.  While the legislation "strongly suggests" that the extra money go to schools, it doesn't require it.

Picture the crew from Animal House suddenly coming across a semi-trailer full of Jack Daniels, and you'll be able to visualize what Sacramento is going to look like in 2013.
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There's a saying, "As California goes, so goes the country."  I think it's happening already.

Look at the national Republican party and compare it to the one in California.  With the disaster heaped upon us by Barry, how could the Repubs NOT win this election?  Every Obama promise made, broken.  Every goal set, missed.  This should have been an ass-whooping of epic proportions.

Instead, he's gonna win re-election.

The same thing happens here in California.  Our state has steadily dropped from the tops of achievement lists, to the bottom of the barrel.  Our state economy is in a shambles.  The only answer Sacramento has to filling the budget gap is to raise taxes.  The Dems have "owned" this state for decades.  Yet they are overwhelmingly re-elected each and every cycle.

As in California, the federal government has established a permanent, dependent class.  It is a huge mass of people who all know (literally) where their bread is buttered.  Republicans then come in and say they're going to stop or slow the gravy train, and get their ass handed to them.

Over 100 million Americans on some sort of government payment or "entitlement" system.  Nearly half of working Americans don't pay income tax.  Entire generations being taught and encouraged to get in line and outstretch their palms.

And the way to win back the 'hearts and minds' of this crowd is by telling them they are going to get less if they elect you?  Yeah, right.  Good plan.

I'm not sure the Repubs have much of a chance of regaining national power in the future.  Unless they get more into the "vote for us and we'll give you shit" game.  They're OK at it with big businesses, let's see if they can extend the skill to buying votes of the little guy as well.

No one leads any more.  They just pander.
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Please, oh please, let me be wrong!  While a Romney win would likely give us rioting right after the election, for the medium-term, it would give us more time to prep.  More time is more good!


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Copyright 2012 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

Government Has Metastasized

[I wish I was clever enough to have come up with the title phrase.  I heard it on the radio, and had to steal it.]

Inside the flat a fruity voice was reading out a list of figures which had something to do with the production of pig-iron. The voice came from an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror which formed part of the surface of the right-hand wall. Winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable. The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.
--George Orwell, 1984

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Reasonable people can disagree about the drug laws.  I don't think anyone likes drug abuse.  Libertarians and Liberals believe it is one of the ugly consequences of a free society.  Conservatives, in general, believe it's OK to bend the Constitution to take away our privacy rights we have via the fourth amendment.  Hey, if we need to bend the rules to catch drug dealers or terrorists, it's OK to give up some rights to stay safe.

Just like Liberals believe it's OK to bend the Constitution with regards to gun ownership and possession.  Bend the second amendment to make it difficult to obtain a gun and carry it to defend yourself, 'cause it's OK to give up some rights to stay safe.  Libertarians and Conservatives tend to think the only permit you should need to carry a gun is the aforementioned second amendment.

There's a problem with bending the rules.  Given a bit of time, government always seems to find a way to apply these newly acquired powers against regular folks.

One of these "bent laws" are our RICO laws.  They were enacted to catch organized crime figures, and they worked quite well.  Snatch up the bad guys, seize their illegal assets, and put them out of business.  The problem is, when the big mafia bosses were largely rounded up, the government was left holding this big ol' hammer with nothing to do.  They started looking for something else to nail down.

One of the benefits of these asset forfeiture laws was that the local, state and federal police agencies all got to split up the booty they grabbed.  They now had a financial interest - and the law on their side - in painting more and more individuals as RICO candidates.

Apparently, anyone who carries large amounts of cash, gold, gems, etc., is now a part of organized crime.  Your personal property - cash, jewelry, real property, cars - are all seized and are not available to you to pay for a defense.  Anything you own is presumed to have been "ill-gotten gains".  What a luscious, perfectly constructed Totalitarian Catch 22:  Since you are presumed guilty because you've been charged under the RICO statutes, you are unable to pay for a defense to prove your innocence.

Almost all forfeiture cases practiced today are civil. In civil forfeiture cases, the US Government sues the item of property, not the person; the owner is effectively a third party claimant. Once the government establishes probable cause that the property is subject to forfeiture, the owner must prove on a "preponderance of the evidence" that it is not. The owner need not be judged guilty of any crime [emphasis mine].

The government sues a piece of property!  Holy crap.  Who could have ever dreamed that up - suing an inanimate object - and what suck ass court said it's legal?  How is a car, or diamond necklace, or stack of cash supposed to mount a defense?

My wife and I have been married for 26 years, and have been a couple for 31 years.  I have bought her LOTS of jewelry over those years.  It represents a considerable sum of money.  The police could enter my home, seize all of this jewelry, sue it, and I would have to prove I bought it legally?  Are you kidding me?

I don't have a single receipt for any piece I've bought her.  Actually, that probably wouldn't matter, because they could just say that the money used to buy the jewelry was earned via illegal means, and I'm screwed.  They don't have to prove I earned the money illegally, I have to prove I didn't earn it that way.  How do you prove you've never earned an illegal dollar?  How do you do that?  How do you prove a negative?  How do I prove that the stack of bills in that envelope are a result of hard, above-the-board work, and not some evil criminal underworld business?

I can't.  No one can.  And it's all a result of usurping the rights of legitimately bad guys, and those usurpation's now being visited upon society as a whole.
---

Buckle up, kiddies.  Here's comes the next usurpation.

A federal judge has ruled that agents of the state may enter your fenced and posted rural property, and install video surveillance devices.  All without having to bother with those nasty requirements contained in the fourth amendment.

Police are allowed in some circumstances to install hidden surveillance cameras on private property without obtaining a search warrant, a federal judge said yesterday.

CNET has learned that U.S. District Judge William Griesbach ruled that it was reasonable for Drug Enforcement Administration agents to enter rural property without permission -- and without a warrant -- to install multiple "covert digital surveillance cameras" in hopes of uncovering evidence that 30 to 40 marijuana plants were being grown.

This will be upheld if it ever makes it to the SCOTUS because we need to be kept safe from drug dealing, fourth amendment be damned.  And as surely as the sun will set tonight, this WILL be applied to anyone and everyone the government feels is breaking the law and needs to be spied upon.

"No, no, Chief.  It only applies to large, rural properties.  The feds can't violate the "curtilage" boundary." Tell that to the thousands of citizens who have had their property stolen by the state via the RICO laws that would only be used for mafia kingpins.

Seriously, does anyone think that it won't be applied soon enough to suburban, then urban properties and homes?  The government's track record on this is perfect:  We are all presumed to be breaking the law, and the Constitution can be warped to help the government prove it.  Or to at least get paid handsomely for the effort.

In general you could not assume that you were much safer in the country than in London. There were no telescreens, of course, but there was always the danger of concealed microphones by which your voice might be picked up and recognized; besides, it was not easy to make a journey by yourself without attracting attention.

--George Orwell, 1984 

I can hear it now:  "Your Honor, our drone just happened to fly over the subject's house while we were looking for another bad guy.  Luckily, our thermal imaging camera was on, and Officer Fife observed what appeared to be an illegal, gangland wrestling match, surely supplying the mob with illegal gambling proceeds.  The subject's assets were seized and divied up.  It was later learned that the subject was just having sex with his wife.  No harm, no foul, right, Your Honor?  Do you like our new gear?  Can I get my warrant now?"

He took his scribbling pad on his knee and pushed back his chair so as to get as far away from the telescreen as possible. To keep your face expressionless was not difficult, and even your breathing could be controlled, with an effort: but you could not control the beating of your heart, and the telescreen was quite delicate enough to pick it up.
--George Orwell, 1984

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Accept The Challenge

I was talking with a friend of mine a few days ago about government.  This friend has made getting around government intrusion in your life, into an art form.  This person won't likely be around much longer, and I'm trying to get a Masters Course in a very short period of time.

The rules are pretty simple:  Keep off the radar.  Don't make a stink.  Don't rock the boat.

If they don't know you have assets, they can't take them.  If they don't think you might be breaking the law, they'll not peek into your life.

The whole idea of government metastasizing is so accurate and horrifying and disgusting.  It's a slow cancer - difficult to notice and not entirely painful.  People that are 50 years and older, see the change to our freedoms, but most are more focused on lining up their ducks for retirement - or are already retired.  Very little boat rocking here.

Younger folks have never know anything different.  Government schools teach them that government is good and right and just.  Follow the rules.  Most of them, too, don't want to rock the boat.

Continue with the Bread and Circuses, and we just don't care.  Fat and happy.  Gettin' by - not thriving but not hurting, either.  Give us the Kardashians or Octomom, and a couple of beers or a strong shot of Jack Daniels, and all is good.

Choices, choices, choices.  How to live our lives?  Real freedom is all but lost.  Subservience is expected.  Gotta ask permission before acting.  Has the flag gone up?  Time to punch out?

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Copyright 2012 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

Imma start a riot.... Imma start a riot

I'm not a big social networking kinda guy.  I've got a business Facebook account that I use a bit, and a personal Twitter account that I haven't used for a couple of years.

Until today.

I heard about a thread (showing my age here? ) called #IfObamaDontWin.  Quite the eye-opener.  Here are a number of Tweets that give the general feel for what's being posted -

There Is Going To Be A Great Depression In The Hood."  

Imma start a riot.... Imma start a riot

We All Getting Deported."  

Black people will never be the same. It's going to be harder to get jobs, no food stamps, weave . They tryna break us down

No Food Stamps. The hoods gonna have their own Hunger Games.

Im gonna grab my shotgun and wait for a black person to crawl through the window.  

There Is Going To Be A Great Depression In The Hood... 

imma be the next D.C. sniper

Say Good Bye To Y'all Government Check & Food Stamps , Yall Hoes Will Be Homeless & Hungry.  

A WHOLE BUNCH OF WHITE PPL GETTING THEY ASS WHOPPED

We'll be singing " My president is white, that shit aint cool and i'll be got damn if he take my food stamps too."  

hell yeah America should riot and kill Romney!!! 

 To the best of my knowledge, each of the folks making these posts was black.  I make this assumption based upon the picture chosen by each of the Tweeters was that of a black person.  The only exception was the guy waiting by the window with the shotgun.  He was white.

I've read opinions to this affect - that if the election is "stolen" from Obama - blacks will riot en masse.  This is the first set of posts I've seen with my own eyes.

They absolutely REEK with self-pity.  Boo hoo hoo!  No more Obamabucks, they're out to ruin us, we're going to crash and burn.  Screw that, LET'S RIOT!!!

THIS is what happens when you design, build and fund a Dependent Class, and they can no longer depend on your continued funding.  They have no skills other than being dependent.

And rioting.
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Big shock here:  If Barry loses on Election Day, there will be rioting in virtually all predominantly-black cities, and then bubble over to secondary cities.  We won't have the Flash Mobs/Robs, it will be full-on rioting, burning, etc.

It will supposedly be directed towards the whites who stole the election, but they'll target "Uncle Tom's" who turned against Barry, as well.
---

Oh, there wasn't a thread called #IfRomneyDontWin.  The closest I could find was, #IfRomneyLoses.  It had 4 posts from the same person -

my president is still black [I'm sure MLK is proud of that sentiment and statement.  That whole, "Content of your character..." stuff really struck a cord, huh?]

I'm gonna laugh in all the Obama haters faces [Nice.  Do you think you'll stay away from the riots by all of the whites because of the stolen election?  WHAT?  No Riots?]

party at my house [Uh, want me to bring a dish - or just the EBT card?]

food stamp is back on  [Whew!  Almost had to go get a job.  Dodged one there!]

So, we have the very clearly spoken words that if Barry loses, blacks will lose all control and trash the place, but no such violence will be visited upon society by whites if Mitt loses.  And history has show us that IT IS likely to happen when blacks feel they've been screwed, even when they haven't.


Accept The Challenge

The following applies to everyone, regardless of color or age:

On Election Day, if you must go out, I strongly urge you to be armed with some sort of self-defense weapon.  Whatever you feel you can manage.  Anything is better than nothing.

"I'd Rather Be Tried By Twelve Than Buried By Six"

It will be the evening of Election Day, and Wednesday morning that will show which direction things will take.  If there is any rioting in major cities, obviously you wouldn't willingly go there.  Be very wary of any travel anywhere Election Night/Weds Morn.

If you must:

DO NOT take public transportation.  Period.  You're an idiot and are willingly putting yourself into a high-risk situation if you do so.  You are 100% at the mercy of large numbers of people that may want you hurt or dead REGARDLESS OF YOUR RACE OR AGE.

If driving, never, ever exit your car in the event you're attacked.  NEVER!  I don't care if you're down to driving on nothing but rims.  You're moving, and you have a metal cage around you.  Use this to your advantage.  Run over anyone coming at you with ill intent.  Do not stop, do not wait, do not hesitate.  They're not coming up to be your friend, they're there to hurt you.  Don't let them.

If you have a gun, fire at threats until they stop.  You do this for two reasons.  First, it's generally the law - you must disengage once the threat has ceased.  Second, you don't want to waste ammo, especially in a situation with multiple attackers.  Firing extra shots into dead or incapacitated attackers is just plain dumb.

Focus, and look for avenues of escape.  If attacked, you'll be scared out of your mind.  Freaking out is not going to get you anything good.  Go through avenues of escape before arriving at your destination.  Forethought can save your life.

At home, lights out, guns hot.  Hopefully you've got sufficient resources (human beings with guns and ammo) to watch all four sides of your home.  A handful of "rovers" in the home that will help if a certain side of the home is attacked - without drawing watchers from the other sides of the home.  If not, you've got a little over a week to figure out how you're going to do that.

Anyone with a barrel pointed towards the house, or a lit flaming device (Molotov cocktail, flare gun, flare) in hand, is shot dead.  If you have difficulty with that concept, get good with it now.  For motivation, consider the warning shot given to your attacker with the lit flaming device.  He now has the ability to throw it to the house, it burn down, and your spouse/child/dog/parent dies in the flames.  Close your eyes and picture the charred remains of your closest relative, in your home, dead, because you chose to be "compassionate".

Feel better?

A barrel pointed at you/your house or a lit flaming device is a direct threat to your life.  You must treat it as such.

Now, get to work.  Not much time left...


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Copyright 2012 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

Big Fat Stinkin' Government Ruminations

I can't breath.

I've been doing a lot of ruminating over the past couple of weeks - really since my last post.  I see our supposed Best And Brightest running for president, The House, The Senate, and for our state government, and it depresses me.  The lying, the spin, the outright deceit has just got me wanting to become a hermit and separate myself from society.

The continual grab, grab, grab for our money and property and liberty is weighted like an elephant on the chest.

Some ruminations for ya....

Here in California, we have a full load of tax increase proposals on the ballot.  One of them has the proponents running ads saying, "Every dollar will go towards educating our (not your) children".  I told my wife that I guarantee that it would end up like the Lottery.  They told us the lottery would provide over $1 billion a year to schools, and it couldn't go anywhere else.

It got my vote, and a lot of other votes.

The problem was, once this extra billion bucks started flowing, the state legislature lowered the school budget by a billion bucks.  Net/net, the school system didn't see an extra dime as a result of the lottery.  The bastards in Sacramento got a windfall to spread around to their cronies, or give themselves huge stipends for travel expense, food and meal expense, living expense, etc.  It was a sweet deal for the incumbents.

Well, imagine my surprise (not) that one of the acceptable uses of the school bill funds for "educating our children" includes funding the shortfall in the retirement packages of the Teacher's Union members.

BAM!  Another sweet deal for someone else, funded by my pocketbook.
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Just last night, I was watching the show, Drugs, Inc.  It's a show that digs into the business side that is a part of illegal drugs.  This episode was in Las Vegas.

About half way through the show, they showed the LVPD putting together a plan to bust some guy that provides out-of-towners with drugs.  His base of operation was a nice hotel room in one of the higher-end properties in Vegas.

They start with the hut-hut-hut squad - the SWAT Team.  About a half dozen of these guys go hut-hut-hut into the hotel and make sure the "bad guy" was secured.  The SWAT Team leaves, and another half dozen detectives show up to see what kind of haul they have.

The two guys had a couple dozen MDMA pills, a small amount of cocaine, and a little bit of cash.

For those of you who haven't been here before, let me repeat my stand on "illegal" drugs.  I believe that you, as an individual, should STILL be able to put anything you wish into your body.  Booze, pills, coke, meth, "bath salts", E, pot, cigarettes - whatever.  It's your body, do as you wish.  The only time the police should be involved is if you infringe on the rights of another - whether you are high or straight.

And if you become addicted or dead, tough shit.  Actions have consequences.  Deal with it.

Perhaps most importantly, as soon as drugs were re-legalized, the crime and death associated with "illegal" drugs would go away.  There would be no need for illegal enforcement of selling territories.  If I used drugs, and could get them from a 7-11, the illegal traffickers would be out of business.  Just like what happened when Prohibition was repealed.  Al Capone - no mas!

At the federal level, there is absolutely, positively NO CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTIFICATION for our drug laws.  The big tipping point was the 1914 Harrison Narcotics Tax Act [link].  It was taken to the SCOTUS, and the bastards let it stay because of "the public good" or some other unconstitutional crap like that.

Now, that being said, the Tenth Amendment WOULD allow a state to write any drug law it wished.  You could have California be an open-air market for drugs, and Nevada have zero tolerance for any drugs whatsoever.

So, back to Vegas.  As I'm watching the hut-hut-hut squad doing their thing, I'm shaking my head, thinking, "What a GD waste of time, money and resources".  But it's Nevada money, I don't live there, so go at it.  It doesn't affect me one little bit.

Ten minutes later, a similar raid is shown.  Only this time, it had a dozen hut-hut-hut squad members, and they were DEA agents.

Now, that DOES affect me and my pocketbook.

They went into this rental house that was changed into a pot growing house.  They cut down some 400+ plants and made zero arrests.  Thank God for that, as their trial and subsequent incarceration would have just extended the waste of money even further.

I know many of you who stop by here support our drug laws.  Let me ask you a question:  If every drug was re-legalized tomorrow, would you start using, say, meth?  Or coke?  Or pot?

No?  Me neither.  If I wanted any of them, or heroin, MDMA, "Bath Salts", magic mushrooms or any illegal drug in this country, I could get them right now.  The drug laws are not only useless, they are a horrific waste of tax dollars.  Drugs are more readily available now than they've ever been.

Who is for drug laws?  Government, of course.  It's damned near a Full Employment Act for cops at every level of society.  County jails, state and federal prisons are full - FULL - of people who wanted to conduct a business transaction which would not infringe upon the rights of anyone else.

And of course, the drug cartels LOVE the drug laws as well.  If you had Ron Popeil selling the Home Crack Maker on late-night TV, the cartels would be out of business.  They need our laws to sustain their drug distribution business.

Good on us to be so proactive in helping foreign businesses grow and prosper.  Makes ya proud to be an American, no?
---

I was thinking of doing some financial diversification.  I'm heavily invested in physical precious metals.  Back in 2007, I dumped all of my paper stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and bought gold and silver.

My primary target for diversification continues to be real estate.  I just need to find the right property in the right state for the right price.  Not as easy as it sounds!

So, in the mean time, I was considering buying some stock.  Not just any stock, but I was focusing in on those companies that have paid a dividend for at least the last 5 years - longer if possible.

Looks like I won't have to do much research.

I had started a little bit of digging, when I heard the news that Barry & Company - our federal government - have a tax proposal that will increase the tax on - you guessed it - dividend payments.  What I've read indicates that the tax rate on dividends will be as high as 44%!  Damned near half of your earnings taken by an entity with a long track record of incompetence.

But wait, there's more!  Barry has told us, ad nauseum, that he only wants to raise taxes on that top 1 percent.  All of those rich bastards that don't pay, "their fair share".

Hey Barry!  Sixty-fiive percent of the folks that get dividend payments - and would be penalized by this new law - earn $100k or less per year.

Oops.

I guess he wasn't lying.  It was just a misinterpretation of the numbers.  He meant to say he only wanted to tax the top 100% of wage earners.

Whew.  Glad we got that cleared up.

Accept The Challenge

Hmm.  I'm a doer and not a whiner, but I'm coming to the end of my patience.  The government seems intent on controling and regulating and taxing every little piece of our lives.  For goodness sake, NYC actually regulates the size of the soda you can buy.  How can that be in America?

The presumption of our handlers is that we are unable to make decisions by ourselves.  They are all-knowing, and are just looking out for our best interests.

The price for this regulation is two-fold:  Increased taxes to pay for the bureaucracy and loss of freedom.  I'd submit that taxes are another form of loss of freedom, as you are being forced to give the results of your labors to another entity.

No, I'm not suggesting anarchy, just that we play by our rule book, the Constitution.  That's all, just play by the rules.

But that's not going to happen.  It will never happen.  As long as one arm of government gets to bless the clearly illegal actions of another arm of government as legal, we're screwed.

As noted earlier, I've got a good bit of PMs.  I know with absolute certainty that at some point in the future, I will not be able to anonymously convert those holdings into fiat cash that I may need to buy real property, for instance.  The government will paint holders of PMs as unpatriotic or greedy bastards or terrorists.  Or all of the above - just like they did in 1933.

They are already well on their way to controlling all markets, setting prices for virtually all commodity foodstuffs (via the farm bills), energy production and distribution, banking, communications and water rights. 

They are well on their way to controlling all of your transportaiton options - flight, rail, busses; your ability to defend yourself against enemies of all stripes by controlling what guns you may own and when yoiu may possess them, which knives, pepper spray or stunguns you may own;  which of our inalienable rights they will grant themselves the ability to alienate.

Economically, you can't fight this beast head-on, and win.  Every form of government has way too many tendrils.  And lots more guns than you do to enforce their will.  If you haven't read Atlas Shrugged, you've got to do it.  You read the book and you will be amazed at how much of Ayn Rand's (a former Soviet citizen) "crazy talk" has happened or is happening.  Especially the whole concept of "economic justice".

When you take away the financial incentive to produce, you stop producing.  Read this snippet from 1990 about the old Soviet Union -

While the Soviet Union's legislators and theorists ponder the vistas of a revolutionary economic-reform program, the people of this country live like hunter-gatherers in a real-world economy that is half desert, half medieval bazaar.

The official structures of the Bolshevik experiment are collapsing with such finality, the state-run shops are so barren, that nearly everyone now must participate in the immense ``shadow economy'' of speculation and petty bribery, barter deals and black-marketeers.

The demands of the ``shadow economy'' trace a Soviet lifetime. A child comes into the world with the mother paying a 200-ruble bribe to the maternity nurse for a sterile needle and an anesthetic. When a Soviet citizen dies, relatives are overcome not only with grief but with the knowledge that they must pay thousands of rubles in bribes to the mortician, the coffin maker and the gravedigger.

What comes in between is an unending hustle. To buy a car means entering a world of markups in the thousands of rubles. A place in a good kindergarten requires 100 rubles - or better, $10 - slipped to the local school inspector. To find a pair of jeans or even the cheapest Western luxury inevitably means a trip to places such as Moscow's Vidnoye Market or Odessa's City Market, vast parking lots of primitive commerce that seem like market scenes in the paintings of Brueghel or Bosch. Crowds form around old women who sell shampoo, hairpins and lipsticks out of tattered plastic bags.

I believe the two most important skills we're going to need in the coming economic collapse are the ability to barter/trade, and the ability to keep your head down - don't draw attention to yourself.  If you're doing considerably better by outwards appearances than your neighbor, you can bet your bottom dollar that your neighbor will turn your ass in for a state-sponsored Enemy Of The State bounty.

With regards to the other inalienable rights that have been stomped, I think our national outrage will peak when/if significant numbers of people start "disappearing" with no explanation.  The TSA is brushing up against this with their No Fly List - you can't find out why you've been banned from commercial air flight.

If this happens - and I believe it will - THEN the shooting will start. Farmers, bankers, beauticians, grocers, all stripes of small business owners and just regular people, will start sending a message to our handlers that they've crossed the line.

I think any organized resistance will be generally crushed.  I think it will be regular folks - individuals - picking a spot and time, and firing off a couple rounds at some form of government symbol.  They'll fire a couple of rounds, then beat feet.  Wait a couple of weeks, then repeat as necessary.

Or they'll burn a government car.  Or cut the power to a government building.  Or any other such act of rebellion.  Anything to cause grief, pain and suffering on whomever you consider an oppressor.

We'll all then be considered Enemies Of The State.


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Copyright 2012 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

Buncha Rubbish

Some thoughts on stuff going on around the country - gas, regulation, corporate food, unintended consequences (probably) and trout.

Have ya heard what's going on here in The (formerly) Golden State with gasoline?  We've got a bit of a Perfect Storm going on here:  Last month, a refinery in Northern California had a big fire, and is down for a while.  Now, a refinery in Southern California is having some problems.  On top of all of that, because we actually have two different kinds of gas here - a Summer Blend and a Winter Blend - and they were already in the process of dropping production as they switch over to the Winter Blend, we're getting hammered on prices and availability.

I saw gas jump on Wednesday by $0.10 in an 8 hour period.  It's up another $0.30 since then.  In some city down south, the price for regular is at $5.70 a gallon!

[sarcasm]Shockingly [/sarcasm] all of these problems can be laid on the doorstep of the pols in Sacramento.  Since gasoline is evil - only toxic lead-laden battery-powered cars are welcome here - the state EPA hasn't allowed a new refinery to be built in this state in over 30 years.  Yeah, 30 years.  And since we have got to have this idiotic Summer or Winter Blend crap, if one of our ancient refineries goes down, we can't import gasoline from another state.
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Since I still have the putrid taste of California Idiocy on my lips, I might as well make all of you non-Californians feel good about yourself and your state.

Many folks have heard about Berkey filters.  These things rock.  You can put polluted water (not just dirty, but polluted with insecticides, etc.) through these things and you get clean water out the other end.

Well, in California's quest to protect its fair citizens, they passed a drinking water law a few years back.  Supposed to protect us against ingesting lead.  Great.

So, the law says that anything that comes into contact with drinking water has got to be certified and approved by the state.  Berkey contacts the state and tells them that not only don't any of their products contain lead, they don't contain ANY metal, so they'd like an exemption from the law.

Surely you jest, said Da State!

The state wanted something like $2500 per product for a testing fee, plus ongoing fees and all kinds of crap.

Berkey, to their credit, told the state to shove it where the sun ain't golden.  They stopped selling these top-of-the-line, literally life-saving products in our state because of the red tape involved.

I don't blame them one bit (BTW, I just pick up new filters whenever I'm in Nevada or Oregon.  They appreciate my business).

Fast forward to the past couple of weeks.  I was going to buy one of my brothers a fancy air filter.  It's actually not a filter, it uses ions to attach to the stink in the air, and it goes away.  Quickly.

I called up to order, and they told me ...... can't sell in California because of some state EPA regulation they're not going to try and fight.

Literally 10 minutes later, I was on a website looking at sleeping bags.  Great coldness rating for a great price.  There was a little note at the bottom of the page:  Can't sell in California because of their specific BEDDING laws.

Lord, give me strength.

Then today, I got an email from a surplus site.  They were having a sale on military gas cans.  I almost couldn't bring myself to look, but there it was.  "Not available for sale in California".  Wow, what a shock.

Are the pinheads in Sacramento REALLY surprised that native Californians are fleeing in droves?  Businesses, too.  Comcast Cable just announced 1,000 jobs leaving the state.  Campbell soup just announced the cutting of another 700 jobs, and the closing of their plant that's been around since 1947.
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Salmonella scare.  We've had a couple of back-to-back outbreaks.

Tainted Peanut Butter in 19 states.

and

Tainted melons in 26 states that resulted in 3 deaths.

These are Government Inspected facilities, right?  OK, just checkin'.  Must be government approved salmonella then...

It all gets back to Regulation vs. Operation.  A food regulator would require labeling, for instance.  "You are buying raw milk.  Some believe that unpasteurized milk has a higher incidence of making you sick."  You don't tell people what they can buy or sell, but you can require a business to disclose what's in their product.  Grass fed beef vs. corn fed.  Genetically modified fruits, veggies and meat vs. non-GMO.

When you have government approve a product or service - as it is doing when it certifies that it has inspected a food plant - the consumer always loses.  You've taken the responsibility from the owner for the quality and safety of the food being produced and transferred it to the government.

I can hear it now, "So, you libertarian piece of crap, you don't want the government inspecting your meat, dairy and vegetables?  You want to go back to the Stone Age of food safety?"

Nope.  I want private industry to perform these quality tests.

Back in the day when I was in banking, every year we had an external audit.  A CPA firm would come in, look at our books, and certify that everything we were stating to our shareholders was true.

If after certifying us, it later became evident that we were cooking the books, and the value of our stock was actually lower, the CPA firm was financially on the line.  THEY would have to come up with money to compensate our shareholders for their sloppy audit.

Since they had a potential financial liability, they checked and double-checked our financials, procedures, policies and practices to ensure our audit reflected our true financial condition,.

When the USDA or FDA lets salmonella-tainted food enter the marketplace, who in government is held accountable?

No one.  So why do we need them?  To maintain the facade of having a safe food production process?

The regulators should simply produce law that states that any third-party certification companies may not have any financial ties to any company they certify.  Just like CPA firms.

Food producers would then have to make the business decision as to whether or not they wished to be certified, e.g. being UL Listed.  Consumers would then be able to determine from which certified and uncertified companies they wished to make purchases.
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Have you seen the movie, Food, Inc.?  If not, see it as soon as possible.  It makes the whole, "getting back to nature, grow your own, be one with your local community" prepper lifestyle make a whole lot more sense.

Seriously, if you have family members that scoff at your self-sufficient lifestyle, invite them over for a screening of the movie.  If they're not full of questions and at least a bit interested, move on.  They're hopeless.
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The Dodd-Frank Bank Protection and Government Enrichment Act may REALLY be rearing its ugly head in the next couple of months.

Part of the Act was a provision that companies holding derivatives will be required to hold high-quality assets as collateral in case the derivatives go sideways.

On the surface, it sounds like a good idea.  But whenever you have the government operating business instead of regulating, you get snapped in the ass.

It seems things may go off track for two reasons.  First, the derivative market is in the $650 TRILLION range.  Big, ugly number.  One of the authorized assets to be held are US Treasuries.  Oops.  There are only $11 trillion worth of them.

Obviously, everyone wanting to buy Treasuries on the secondary market won't be able to get them.  BUT, those that are sold, will sell for a premium.  That means that the yield on the Treasury will decrease (you're paying more for a fixed return).  This phenomena  in turn, will be reflected in the market when the Treasury sells new bonds.  Everyone's gotta get 'em, so Uncle Sam doesn't need to pay as much to the buyers.

Nice scam if you can get it.  You get to set the market regulation, and it just coincidentally funnels lots o' bucks your way.  Sweet deal.

The second snap o' the buttocks is with banks.  They hold a ton of this stuff (somewheres north of $140 trillion).  One of the other acceptable assets is cash.  So the banks will have a decision to make:  Use your cash reserves as collateral for your derivatives (OMG!  Fiat currency securing gambling tokens), or lend the money to your customers and buy the limited amounts of Treasuries by borrowing more money from the Fed.

The banks have already shown they're in no mood to lend money to anyone even in this boisterous, over-heated economy, so my guess is they'll continue along that path.  No one is believing the pablum coming out of DC about how great things are, so lending will remain tight for the foreseeable future.

In one fell swoop, a government regulation simultaneously lowers the return people will make when buying Treasuries, and also constricting the amount of money available to the few banks that want to lend.

And you didn't think you'd be affected by the derivatives market.  Silly you!
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Oh.  No, I'm not pissed that the cost of borrowing for the government will go down.  Less money coming out of my pocket and going to Nanny is always a good thing.  What I'm pissed about is that this BS regulation - white washed as a way to protect every-day Americans - is nothing but a way to require companies to pay Uncle Sam.
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On a personal note, I'll be gone for a week or so.  A buddy and one brother are headed up to Eagle Lake in Lassen County.

This lake is only open 6 months out of the year, and contains the coveted Eagle Lake Trout.

I am NOT one of those catch-and-release fisherman.  I'm a catch-and-eat fisherman, and I hope to have a belly full of this special trout all of next week!

I'm going to try and pre-load some posts, but no promises.

Cheers!


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Copyright 2012 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