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.
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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?
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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!
---

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

Shedding The 47 Percenter Web

This post is targeted at whatever portion of that 47% of non-income tax payers that is dependent upon the government for their day-to-day living.

You're being lied to.  The government touts the "safety net" as a way to get back on your feet.  To the contrary - it's more like a spider's web.

You're stuck - you can't advance.  As you're ensnared by more and more web, you're less inclined to struggle to free yourself.  You accept your fate - "Whatever that spider wants to do with me, I've got to accept it."

You're his bitch.

This spider, though, is a bit different.  While the web still keeps you immobile, the spider doesn't finish you off.  Right now, he's a collector of sorts.  He gives you just enough to live - food, housing, clothing - but he keeps you wrapped up and dependent on him for those things.  He saps your will to advance by keeping you comfortable.

Here's the rub:  He soon discovers that he can't keep supporting his "catch" - the web strains under the weight of his dependents.  The web will either break, or he'll have to start cutting off those whom he has supported the longest - the ones with the least amount of drive and ambition left in them.
 ---

47%ers, you're living on the backs of others.  Others who have the fruits of their labors stolen from them, and redistributed to you.  They don't get to choose to give you the money, it's simply taken.  No matter how "deserving" or how compelling your story, when you cut through all of the crap, you're living off of the labor of someone else.

I keep reading story after story in the Compliant Mainstream Media about how this or that government program turned everything around.  Without these programs, we'd be hip deep in dead unwed mothers and their babies.

And there's never a good time to turn off the spigot.  "We're close to having this problem whipped, but we're not quite there.  Just a little bit longer.  Ehem, social justice, economic justice, racists, racist, racist.  Vote for me come November," yelps the politician.

This can't last.  This won't last.  The web will break or be trimmed.  Know it in your heart of hearts.  Obamabucks or Romneybucks will eventually run out.

What then?
---

Any work is better than no work.  Work builds pride and independence and purpose.  Handouts make you weak and lethargic and dependent.

Work also gives you the drive to advance.

[Queue angelic harp music]  I remember my first job while I was in high school.  I was hired as a dishwasher at a local restaurant/bar/motel.  I then advanced to pot washer.  We were the bottom of the barrel.  Always the last ones to leave, because after all of the dishes and pots were washed, we had to clean the entire kitchen.  Wipe down the oil and muck from the day, sweep and mop the floors.  Wash down the bathrooms.  All for $1.25 an hour (this was 1975).  Oh, and a free meal and all the soda from the bar that I wanted.

After a couple of months, I became a cook.  I sure as hell knew I didn't want to be a dishwasher, and probably not a professional cook.  We had a number of grown men who I'd guess were making $5 an hour that were working side by side with me on the line.

Nope... If I was going to work that hard, you'd have to pay me some real money.  A few months later, just after starting college, I got my first banking job.  I worked my ass off, but most importantly, I observed.

What made the bosses the bosses?  What traits did they have that I liked, and which ones would I never use?  What skills were paid the most money, and what would it take to obtain those skills?

Long story short, I spent 31 years in banking, leaving as an Executive Vice President.  And I never did get the college degree, either.  No silver spoon.  No scholarships.  No loans.  Worked my way while in college. No contacts with "higher ups" to get me a sweet gig.

My point?  If I didn't work, I'd have never known what I didn't want to do!  It sounds a bit odd, but it's a fact.  I had self-worth, even back then.  I had no problem working hard, but I'd be damned if it would be for free.
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To you Hispanic 47%ers:  Seriously, help me understand why you - as a group - favor open borders with Mexico.  Anyone with two gray cells to rub together knows that the more people that are available for any given job, the lower the wage will be.  The employer is in the power seat.  If you don't want to accept minimum wage for a job, he's got dozens and dozens of folks willing to jump at the chance.  Don't you understand that by flooding the market with cheap labor, you, as an individual, are harmed?

You are in the truest sense of the word, a "slave".
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Stay on the public teat, and when you die, no one will care.  You won't have made a mark on the lives of those around you.  "Yeah, old Bob was a heck of a redistribution recipient.  Damn!  He could always figure out a way to extend his payments from one public program, and have the next one lined up before the previous one ran out.

"I wonder if his public housing spot will be available..."

Accept The Challenge

Whether you're a 47%er - by choice or not - or someone looking to gain some financial freedom, you need to get to work right damned now.  I don't care if it's a job where you ask, "Would you like fries with that?" even after you've been a big wig.

Government handouts rot your soul.  They take away your ambition, your drive, your self-worth.

While you're flipping those burgers, reassess your skills and your local economy.  Maybe they don't need people with your skillset anymore.  So change your skillset.

Get short-term education - 3 months to 2 years.  DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST!  Don't go get a certificate in Buggy Whip Design and Fabrication.  Learn or improve a skill in something with some legs - something that will last.

Look at starting your own business.  Maybe even just part time, but you'll more likely achieve financial freedom working for yourself than working for someone else.  Whatever you do, make it consumable or something that needs replacing.  Have a product or service that, by design, requires them to come back to you.  If you've treated them fairly and honestly, they'll keep coming back to you for more.

Find a niche in your market.  That can be something you do locally, or something that you can sell regionally or nationally.  Give your chosen market "a better mouse trap".

Some ideas -

1.  Vice.  Hey, it sells.  Alcohol, porn, etc.  You need to check your moral compass when going down this road.  It's lucrative, but can be disgusting.  Most aspects are highly regulated, but not all.  Hustler Magazine and porn movies are watched by the authorities for crossing the line, but Fifty Shades Of Gray soft "mommy porn" is widely accepted as "cool".

2.  Money.  Payday loans, PM stores, title loans, pawn shops, consignment stores.  Just be warned that much of this sector is heavily regulated.  You need to determine for yourself if it's worth the grief to enter this line of work.  And you need a pile of cash to get started.

3.  Aging America.  Huge, HUGE market is opening up, with tremendous opportunities.  Collectibles, rock and roll, health care, travel/adventure - the possibilities are endless.  In the health care space, it goes from starting a pick-up-and-drop off service for doctor visits, to in-home dialysis services, to physical therapy, to elder care.  This, I believe, will have the highest amount of opportunity.  But pick your niche.  LOTS of people are going down this road.

4.  Safety.  Me thinks the government(s) will continue their Fear Campaign - there are bad guys behind every corner - to help justify continued spending on police and DHS programs.  This feeds a need of some citizens to get training on everything from non-lethal stun guns and pepper spray to handgun safety, to advanced weapons training.  This will continue to boost the sales of the businesses that supply the products people need to protect themselves - handguns, rifles, ammo, alarm systems, pepper spray/stun guns, etc.  As of right now, training is a lightly regulated industry, whereas the tools - handguns in particular, and ammo in socialist states such as California - are heavily regulated.

5.  Government vendor. At least for the near-term, supplying the government with goods and services is a HUGE growth industry.  Everything needed in private industry and private life, is needed by the government, and they pay a premium.  If you're a woman, black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American, you have a leg up on all other competition.  For this group, government schools - colleges in particular - have developed Departments of Diversity or similarly titled entities whose sole purpose is to ensure you move to the front of the line when it comes to dealing with the schools.

 6.  Information.  Write a Kindle book, and sell it on Amazon.com.  Be sure you're not one of the million folks writing a book on how to reduce clutter in your house if you expect to make any money.  Do your research first to make sure you're not in a saturated market.  One good strategy seems to be writing a series of small books.  For instance, there's a guy who writes books on deer hunting.  Stalking, field dressing, knowing the wind, etc.  Each book sells for $0.99, and he has 52 of them.  He periodically gives one away for free as an incentive to buy the others.  52 might be a bit much, but 4 to 10 might work.  Make it a topic or skill that offers a fresh perspective and unique insights.

7.  Hispanic-targeted products and services.  There's a reason that it seems like half of the cable channels are Spanish speaking.  Hispanics are the most rapidly growing ethnic group in our country.  State and federal governments are doing nothing serious to protect our southern border, so like it or not, this trend will continue. Muéstrame el dinero!

Others?

Stay away from:

1.   Automobiles and related industries.  As our society ages and seniors become a much larger percentage of the population, the number of cars needed is going to drop appreciably.  Automobile companies are projecting flat sales for as far as the eye can see, while the overall population continues to grow.

2.  Computer repair.  A dime a dozen.  Yep, some folks are screamin' professionals, but there is a TON of competition.

3.  Website designer.  See above.

Others?

Lastly, as I've noted before, don't put all of your eggs in one basket.  Work HARD to have multiple streams of income.  This is so important.  If the largest breadwinner in your household lost their job, what would you do?  How would you pay your bills and feed yourself?

Plan now, and keep yourself out of the web...

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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

More Dis and Dat

Obscenely busy.  Sorry for the dearth of posts.  Here's some stuff coursing through my warped mind:

Can you say, Barack Hussein Carter?  I have not witnessed a similar level of spinelessness since Jimmeh was the POTUS.  Did you see the press release the State Department issued after our Egyptian embassy was breached?

The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims -- as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others. 

WTF?  Hey you stupid shits!  Our embassy was overrun.  Those sons of bitches that did the overrunning got exactly what they expected.  A GD apology FROM US!

Then, emboldened since they didn't even get a threat - which they knew we wouldn't follow through on anyways - their bastard brothers in Libya killed 4 Americans in cold blood.

I haven't had the stomach to look for the apology for forcing the poor Muslim boys to kill our ambassador.
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Uh, since when do we have an ambassador in Libya?  Since Qaddafi turned into worm food, or before that?

Tell ya what - get out of that 13th century cesspool.  Time to cut our losses.  Make the site of the embassy a smoking hole and if the area a couple of blocks around the embassy get smoked too, well, thems the breaks.
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About 9/11.  When are we going to stop this pity-fest?  Seriously.  Why do we want to remember a day when we got our ass kicked?

How about we roll the burning of the White House during the War of 1812, Pearl Harbor and 9/11 into one big Ass Wupped holiday?

I can understand - maybe - the families going to a memorial and laying down flowers.   But from where I sit, it is nothing more than a way for various government agencies to keep us in a perpetual state of, "remember, there's a boogie man out there" so they have reason to keep our rights infringed.

Yeah, I'm THAT jaded.  And I don't think I'm too far off the mark.
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What's the deal with "Gluten Free"?  Do we suddenly have an outbreak of people with celiac disease?

Good Lord, gluten gives my bread its chew and spring.

I can see Mayor Bloomberg getting this scourge on America banned right after the soda ban kicks in.  We're saved!

Tell ya what - I want Double Gluten bread.  Maybe triple.  I want all that gluten that's been cast off, and shipped to my house.  I'm gonna sell the hell out of it.  Sour dough bread that eats like Double Bubble.

I'll be rich.  Keep your eyes peeled for my ads...
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Have ya watched the price of gold and silver lately?  Unreal.  Bernanke belches and PM's go through the roof.

Not that I'm complaining.  When prices quickly move up or down, we get swamped in our store.  People don't want to miss out.

If I were a betting man, I'd bet we're just starting to see the run-up in PMs.  I'm telling you this because I personally won't profit one thin (silver) dime if you buy PMs.

If you can afford one ounce of silver a week, or 500 a month, do it.  More is better - once you've made sure your living expenses are covered.

And don't blink after you buy.  Prices WILL fluctuate.  If they start coming down, don't freak out and sell.  PMs are a medium-term investment.  Three to five years, minimum.  If you're going to need the money before that, don't buy.

The only time I'd sell earlier than 3-5 years is if the government came out and said they aren't going to run deficits any longer, thus there would no longer be a need to devalue the dollar by printing up new ones.

Yeah.  Like that's gonna happen inside of 3 years.
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Hey Hillary - take a shower, and maybe ask Barry if you can borrow one of Michelle's hair dressers.  You're representing our country to the world.  The Haggard Worn Out look ain't cuttin' it.

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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

Practice Makes Proficient

We all remember when Captain "Sully" Sullenberger belly-landed his Airbus A320 in the Hudson River.  He was directly responsible for saving the lives of 155 passengers and crew.

He was hailed a hero and miracle worker.  He said he was just doing his job.  A lifetime of preparation led to a "miracle".

Well, I think, like many people who have found themselves in such an extraordinary circumstance, they really do feel like their entire lives has been a preparation for that moment.

Amen to that, brother.
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In the comments of my post The Fear Factor, a commentor had made note of the fact that the NYC shooting outside of the Empire State Building resulted in 9 innocent bystanders being hit by police fire.

I made this comment -

[Painting with a VERY broad brush here] My experience has been that cops fall into two broad categories: Good, decent people who truly want to do good for the community. The other are power freaks. The, "I've got a gun and a badge, and you'll do as I say. Or else."

This latter group doesn't seem to feel the need to practice their craft. They've got their POST certificate and the aforementioned gun and badge. That's all they need.

The "good guys" work at their craft. Virtually every time I teach my advanced Practical Defensive Pistol class, there are LEOs on that range practicing their holster/draw/shoot skills.

It's almost always the same guys.

Commenter Adam (a LEO, and I get the impression from his past comments that he's one of the "good guys") made a comment about the adrenalin rush of the situation being one of the reasons for the unintended victims.  I basically said, IMO, that's not an acceptable excuse.

Cops need to train.  Hard.  And they need to expose themselves to stressful training situations to try and approximate real-life shooting situations.  I had suggested that all LEOs be required to maintain certification with a shooting sport, such as IDPA, in the same way that a CPA must keep their license current through continuing education.  Annual "qualification" on the firing range is insufficient.

Consider this video of a private security guard (h/t SHTFPlan.com). This is at an Internet cafe in Melbourne, Florida.  (Note:  Why the hell do bad guys keep hitting Internet cafes?  This is the second such robbery I've heard about in the past few weeks.  Do they keep enough cash on hand to warrant having an armed guard?  Apparently so...). 

This old guy was Johnny On The Spot.  Quick draw, movement, didn't stop shooting until the threat had passed.

I'd bet a million bucks he's put thousands and thousands of rounds down range, AND has - at the very minimum - run through this scenario in his head dozens of times.

[Start dreamy harp music]  "Multiple bad guys charge my post.  Identify they have weapons.  Draw weapon, put shots on closest target first, then next closest.  Repeat shots until threat has stopped.  Move to ensure I become a difficult target to hit and to ensure they can't rush me past one side of my post to surround me."




What a stud.  Great technique and tactics, and not a bit of hesitation.

At least in his head, he's been there before.  And like Sully's water landing, he likely saved his life and possibly the lives of others because of his preparation.

Accept The Challenge

If it comes to preps, as the saying goes, if you're going to do it, you might as well do it right.

Making fire.  Practice.
Making water.  Practice.
Making shelter.  Practice.
Gathering wild edibles.  Practice.
Using deadly force.  Practice.  A lot.

Most things for which you're practicing involve you alone.  If you can't make fire and you get stuck on a mountain, you'll likely die.  No one else is affected. 

If you have a gun and you're not proficient in how to use it - including WHEN to use it - others may die or be injured.

If you carry concealed, practice.  For instance, every day I'm in our precious metals store, when I get to work, I go into the back and do 5 to 10 practice draws.  It's more to ensure my IWB holster is properly positioned, but it makes the rake clothing-grip-clear-rotate-center-push process more fluid.  I want it to be smooth as butter so that I can keep my attention on the bad guys.  I have myself timed on occasion to practice having the muzzle pointed at the bad guy from a concealed holster in 2 seconds.

When I teach my Practical Defensive Pistol class, I get there early do practice beforehand.  Multiple targets.  Fighting tunnel vision by visually sweeping the area after shooting.  Really concentrating on stance and presentation and trigger squeeze.  I want this to all be second nature if I'm ever forced to do it for real.

Regarding the adrenalin dump:  It's a hell of a point.  I've never had a gun pointed at me.  I've never had to point one at a human being, much less one that's looking to rob or harm me.  Possibly in a store full of customers.  I may crap myself, for all I know.

But I do IDPA and self-stress shooting practice (timing and accuracy drills) to attempt to approximate the various situations I may encounter.  About the most stressful practice I've done is with paintballs.  One of my son's and I used to go up into the hills to a site that was force-on-force in a natural setting (not the typical paintball "courts").  When the horn would blow, the paint starts flying - and your heart starts pumping!  On more than one occasion, teams of Sheriff department SWAT members would be up there "playing" with us.

I go through scenarios in my head regarding a robbery at the PM store.  One guy.  Five guys.  Hostages.  Bull-rush the store.  Catch us by surprise.  Store full of customers.  No other customers.  See a gun.  See pepper spray.  See Taser.  See hammer.  See pipe.

Come up with a plan for each.

Obviously, no real-life incident will play out exactly as you practice, but by thinking about and practicing multiple scenarios, parts of each have a great chance of being included come "game time".

As all of my coaches in high school and college used to say, "You play like you practice."

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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

See? I Told You So!

Gawd, it becomes tiring - almost - being right all of the time.  Such a burden would crush a lesser man.  It is only because of my modest and humble demeanor that I am able to walk among "common folk" and carry on my life's work....

Well, and predicting this stuff is about as difficult as getting a welfare recipient to accept more money.

About a week ago, I uttered these immortal words ("Social Impotence") -

Where am I going with this?  I've once again realized that resistance IS futile.  The borg is here to stay.

Don't take that as a defeatist attitude.  It's not.  It's pragmatic.  The inertia of our growing government - federal, state and local - cannot be stopped.  Too many special interests, including the government itself, rely on the existence of big government.  Those of us who cherish personal liberty have become socially impotent.  There is nothing we can do to change our nation's course.

I went on to say that I've pissed away enough time ranting and raving about government - all for naught - and my subsequent posts would focus on practical solutions to minimize the impact of Big Bro.

True dat.  Still I must admit that I just can't keep my piehole shut about government abuse and expansion.  It's my meth, so to speak, and I gotsta have it.  So, I'll work the ranting into the prepping.

Oh look!  Here's an example all ready.  And one that fits the quotation above.  Ain't that convenient?

I happened to plop my butt down in my chair while the Republican Coronation was on the tube.  The Talking Head on Fox had wet himself over the fact that Romney was getting close to the number of delegates he needed to wrap up the ticket.  I decided to watch until the toe-curling climax.

Some lady up on stage would mention the state, and the number of votes they had.  A representative from the state would give a Chamber Of Commerce blurb about their great state and say how their votes were cast.  Another lady up on stage would then repeat the number of votes cast.  BUT only those cast for Romney.

I'm like, "WTF?  Why are they only mentioning The Mittster?"

So I decided to pay a little closer attention.  For instance, when they got to Maine, the first lady on the podium noted that they had something like 23 votes.  The person from the state then yammered on, and proudly announced that, "Two votes go to the next president of the United States, Mitt Romney!"  The other lady on stage said (very Stepford Wife-ish, btw), "Romney:  Two votes".

I'm thinking, "Uhm, what about the other 90% of the votes cast by their state?  Who got those?"

During the Coronation, per party rules, a group of five states submitted the paperwork necessary for Ron Paul to be included in the vote.  The old-school Repubs didn't like that, so they shut it down.  They changed the rules - in mid-stream - so that 8 states had to submit the paperwork -

According to the chairman of the Nevada delegation, Wayne Terhune, his state, along with at least four others, submitted nomination papers for Paul on Tuesday afternoon. He said current party rules require that five states submit nominating papers in order for a candidate's name to be placed in nomination.

Think about what happened here.  We're not talking about Democrats trying to change the Republican party, we're talking about insiders getting the shaft.  The folks chosen to select their candidate for their friggin' party to go up against Barry!

Whether you love him or hate him, Ron Paul is all about small government and fiscal responsibility.  Romney toes the party line.

And we've seen what the party line has gotten us.

Accept The Challenge

Plain and simple:  If you want to change the national politics in America you must vote for a third party.  Until the Dems and Repubs feel the fear of losing control, they have no incentive to change.  Quite the opposite.

"But Chief, it will just give the election to Barry by drawing votes away from Romney."  Eh.  Maybe, BUT SO WHAT?  Like having The Mittster in charge will make any difference.

"But, but, the Supreme Court.  Yeah, the Supreme Court.  Those appointments are forever.  We'll be doomed if the liberals take a majority."

Uh, perhaps you haven't been paying attention.  Dubya's boy, Chief Justice John Roberts - conservative constitutionalist extraordinaire - just saddled us with the "It's A Tax - No It's Not - Yes It Is" Obamacare.

Or maybe you were referring to the conservative justice appointed by Dubya's daddy - David Souter.  As wikipedia notes -

Souter sat on both the Rehnquist and Roberts courts, and came to vote reliably with the court's liberal members.

You remember Dave, right?  He voted "aye" on the Kelo v. New London case which said that taking your privately owned property and giving it to another private party was consistent with the original intent of the eminent domain provision of the fifth amendment.

Or perhaps you're confusing him with Justice Anthony Kennedy - a rah rah Reagan appointee - who ALSO voted for Kelo.  In fact, he was the swing vote that gave the win to the land-grabbers.

If the government wants your shit, they'll just take it.  And Republican appointees won't get in the way.  They know who butters their bread.

It seems as though if a case has to do with taking your wealth - via taxes forcing you to buy health insurance, or via the outright theft of your real property so your local public officials can earn more money - those Republican, "small government" types fall right in line with the Libs.

You can close your eyes, and wish really, really hard that the Republicans will change.  This time will be different.  But they won't change.  You can click your heels together, chanting, "I want to go home.  I want to go home."  But when you sneak a peek, you'll still be in Oz.

We need to change the political environment, and voting for "the lesser of two evils" is insane.  They're the "equal of two evils".  The Dems will bleed us financially, and the Repubs will bleed our liberty.  Same destination, different paths.

One last thing to think about:  Look how a local issue - a city using eminent domain on a piece of local property - opened the door for more Marxist "ALL the land belongs to The People" legalities across the nation.  As I noted in my Social Impotent piece, vote and act locally.  Don't let the Marxist bastards get a toehold in your community.

One more one last thing:  If you're a Dem/socialist/Marxist who likes the whole idea of giving away land and cash, why don't you start at home?  Literally put your money where your mouth is.  Write a damned check to Uncle Sam.  If you think a 75% tax rate is a great thing, DO IT!

And sending money to a private charity doesn't count.  If you're more than just a mouth-breathing, platitude-spewing piece of crap, you'll send a check to the federal government for everything in excess of 25% of your income.

Then give your home and land to the federal government with the stipulation that you get to live there, just like the welfare rats get to stay in the public housing we're all paying for.

I'm not holding my breath, mouth breather...

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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

Valuable, Durable, Portable and Easily Divisible

Different preppers have different beliefs as to the depth and breadth of the event which causes their plan to be implemented.  Some believe the event will be no more than a "personal recession" - a job loss, perhaps.  It could escalate to a national or worldwide depression.  We could have martial law inflicted upon us, or the government could go full-throttle communist with a centrally planned economy.  Worse case, I believe, would be an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) - either man-made or natural - sufficient in size and location to take out our national electrical grid.

Regardless of which scenario(s) for which you're planning, you're being, uhm, imprudent, if you're not planning for a hole in your preps.  You may have food, water, shelter, medical, security and equipment for you and your crew to last a full 10 years.  What happens if half of it is stolen, rots or otherwise is inadequate?

You're screwed.

You need to have goods or skills which allow you to acquire what you need.  Barter, baby.  You need to be able to barter.
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Most mediums of exchange have four traits in common.  They're Valuable, Durable, Portable and Easily Divisible.

Valuable:  Someone else wants what you have.  It matters not if YOU think it has value - your trading partner must perceive value.  You might have a sculpture which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars before the balloon went up.  Afterwards, depending upon the type of event which occurs, it may have no value beyond its ability to keep your hat and overcoat off of the floor.  Things which have value prior to an event may have little or none after an event, and common, pedestrian goods may be your most prized possessions.

Durable:  What is the life cycle of your goods?  In general, something which spoils quickly, or loses its utility over time will hold less value than a hearty, durable good.  Milk would be less valuable than cheese, for instance.  There are exceptions, of course.  Gasoline eventually loses its effectiveness.  In an event such as an EMP where the grid is down and gas stations are unable to give you gasoline, a couple gallons would be VERY valuable.  In a depression, maybe not so much.

Portable:  Can you deliver your goods without much fuss?  If you own real estate, it's not going anywhere.  Unless you have a local buyer or trader, it could be valueless.  A couple of stacks of 1 ounce gold coins can currently represent the same value.

Easily Divisible:  Can you break it down into smaller units?  In addition to making the item more portable because of its smaller size, you are generally able to get a premium over larger units.  Why is that?  Because more people can afford to buy the smaller units.  A one ounce gold piece has a 5% premium over spot gold prices.  A 10th ounce coin has a 12%-15% premium. 

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"Yeah, but...."

I can hear it already.  "Chief, you can't eat gold or silver."  Yep, and you can't buy or trade for a side of beef with real estate, either.

Diversify your holding.  You have no idea what will be needed - and have value - in the future, because you have no way of knowing exactly what is going to happen in the future.

A key to success, I believe, will be having the skills to convert raw materials into goods which have more value than the raw materials.   Let's say you're in an area with an abundance of corn.  You have lots of it, as do your neighbors.  If you have the skills to convert that corn into ethanol, you've now made it more valuable AND versatile.  Sell/trade it as fuel or as a beverage.

Accept The Challenge

During the war in Bosnia, one of the survivors made a comment along the lines of, "If you have clean water and toilet paper, you're a rich man."

In virtually all emergency/disaster scenarios, food, water, guns, ammo, alcohol and precious metals will be valuable.  Knowing which items to hold in storage can be a crap shoot.

For instance, if we are faced with an economic depression, storing mass amounts of water would be a waste of time and resources.  We'd still be able to turn on a faucet, and get all the water we need.  Having a huge store of precious metals could make you a king.

Conversely, if we have an EMP event, clean, potable water would be mind-numbingly valuable, and precious metals would be more valuable as fishing sinkers than as a medium of trade.

The key, I believe, is to diversify and adapt.  For instance, I don't store a gajillion gallons of water, but I have the skills and tools (and access to water) to make a gajillion gallons.  Filters and chemicals, plus the skills to go "old school" if my modern tools are lost or stolen.

Right now, as I read the tea leaves of our society, I think the likelihood of an economic crash, the confiscation or further restrictions on access to guns and ammo, and further intrusions into our private lives/information are on the top of the Hit Parade of possible events.  As such,  I focus my limited resources on those areas.

I am moderately prepared for virtually any event - up to and including an EMP - and well prepared for those events listed above.

Because the tea leaves can sometimes be cloudy, I have stores of things that have been valuable in past disasters/emergencies.  Hygiene items, precious metals, guns, ammo, water making goods, communications devices, alcohol, sugar, fats, salt.

All of these are in quantities normally deemed "above normal", but that's the idea.  These things - and a number of fairly specialized skills - are my currency for the future.

When you're putting something away for barter, run them by the Valuable, Durable, Portable and Divisible test.  If you miss on one or more of the requirements, think hard about whether it will help you 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

Social Impotence

I was in the process of drafting a post about a number of absolutely idiotic laws being proposed here in California.  The state is broke and dysfunctional, yet our state leaders are making political busy-work.  Most have to do with the Marxists in Sacramento jumping on the "Illegal Aliens Won't Get Deported" bandwagon that was thrust upon us by DC.

As I was formulating ideas, I was struck by an irrefutable fact:

Liberty has a key trait in common with Marxism.  Neither has ever succeeded in the long term.  Societies with high amounts of personal liberty eventually devolve into Marxist states.  And Marxist states eventually collapse and liberty emerges.

I need to accept that the liberty that was the basis for the founding of our country is all but gone.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're still "more free" than much of the rest of the world, but we've got nowhere near the freedom we had in the beginning of our republic.  Or even the amount we had 50 years ago.

Our Constitution - at first glance - has all of the proper controls in place to ensure the liberty of the individual (or the states) supersedes the power of the federal government.  It appears as though we were left with explicit instructions along these lines - via the tenth amendment.  It's so clear and unambiguous -

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

How can this possibly be misinterpreted?  Yet, you need only look at the size, scope and power of the federal government, and you see it's been wholly ignored.

[My conservative friends hate this example - that's why I it's my go-to federal abuse!]  How can we possibly have a federal department tasked with fighting "the war on drugs?"  The DEA.  It's because Congress passed federal anti-drug legislation going back to the early 1900's (Harrison Narcotics Tax Act - link) AND the Supreme Court gave it the nod when the law was passed.

Since there was now legal precedence, piling on the laws - and the bureaucracy to enforce those laws - was child's play.  Once the slippery slope is greased, resistance to the growth of government is futile.

Pick any federal agency that was not specifically chartered in the Constitution, and you'll find a similar pattern.  Get a big ranch that kills some folks with salmonella, and you get the USDA.  Have a crash of a rigged financial system, and you get the Social Security Administration.

Government uses fear and the offer of protection to grow.  They numb us to the concept that liberty has risk.  In all aspects of our lives, they want to socialize risk.  The risk of recreational drugs killing your wife.  The risk of you giving birth to a disabled child.  The risk of taking a sip of tainted raw milk.  The risk of dying poor and hungry.  The cost of this apparent transfer of risk is the loss of a little bit of liberty each time we make that deal. 

What people always seem to forget is that despite all of the government promises of protection, we're still just as vulnerable as we've always been.  The very same banned drugs that brought us the DEA are still available to anyone.  People die every single year from food grown on USDA inspected farms and ranches.  The federally regulated financial system is routinely abused, resulting in the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

The only difference is we pay for this facade of safety and protection.
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Where am I going with this?  I've once again realized that resistance IS futile.  The borg is here to stay.

Don't take that as a defeatist attitude.  It's not.  It's pragmatic.  The inertia of our growing government - federal, state and local - cannot be stopped.  Too many special interests, including the government itself, rely on the existence of big government.  Those of us who cherish personal liberty have become socially impotent.  There is nothing we can do to change our nation's course.

If I had a million readers a day, it would change nothing.  Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, Beck, Savage, et al, DO have millions hear their message every single day, and nothing has changed.  The death spiral is slowed at times, but never reversed.  We're still headed straight towards Marxism.
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I'm going to re-focus what I do here.  I LOVE bitching and moaning about the socialist bastards in California and DC.  Seriously, I love it.  But it does nothing.  No string of words I could ever type could get enough people to reverse this mess we're in.

But I can help handfuls, dozens - maybe even hundreds of folks to better adapt to what's happening.  Perhaps they and their families can come out from this in above-average shape.  Some of us may even thrive.

I want to focus on solutions, not rhetoric.  The solutions are personal and local.  The macro view is useless, the micro view is actionable.  I've come to grips with the fact that the individual cannot change anything political outside of their own community.

Think small.  Think private.  Think self-serving.  Be a quiet leader and actor.

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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 Fear Factor

I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six.
--Some Still-Alive Citizen

I held an introductory pistol class this weekend.  All women.  I'm really likin' this trend of more and more women taking the step to learn about firearms and self-defense.  I don't know if it's just because I'm in California - with our virulent anti-gun culture - but most women I come across are afraid of guns.  I'm very happy to see that changing, at least in my little slice of the world.

One of the ladies taking the class this weekend attended it with her mother.  She is a college student, and her apartment was broken into (she was not there at the time).  The maggot that did the breaking in was a convicted rapist.

Her dad insisted she learn how to shoot.  Good on him.

Dad had a nice S & W .38 Special five shot revolver.  The plan was for her to use this gun during the range time of the class.  Mom elected to do the rental program we've got set up with the range (use of a .22LR revolver and semi-auto).

Before the students start shooting, I put a round down range so that they can hear what it sounds like with their ear protection on.  If a student brings their own gun - larger than a .22 - I'll shoot a round from that gun as well.

I shoot the .22, and everyone is A-OK.  I shoot the .38 Special, turn around, and the girl's eyes are all red, and then there are tears streaming down her face.

Oh crap!  My first "crier".  I've taught over 500 students at this range over the years, and never even had puffy eyes.  Lots of shakes, fidgeting and sweating, but no tears.

Her mom suggests that they swap stations - daughter will use the .22's, and mom will shoot the .38 spl.

The daughter does great shooting the .22's.  I'm giving her lots of encouragement, and slight adjustments to her stance and grip.  Her mom is just about finished, and has 2 rounds left.  I tell her to wait.

I tell the daughter that I want her to shoot the remaining .38's.  She has a look of horror in her eyes.  Seriously.  I reinforce that she's been doing great, and can easily shoot the .38.  I make a deal with her:  I'll load up 1 round, and she'll put it down range.  If it's too tough, she can call it quits, and no one is the worse.  If it works out OK, she can put the next shot down range as well.

Fine.

I load up the gun, and hand it to her.  She cocks the pistol, bends her knees, leans into the shot, locks her elbow, brings the gun to eye-level and squeezes the trigger.

Bullseye!

You've never seen so much happiness on a face in your life!  I loaded up the next round, and she damned near put it through the same hole.  It was awesome.
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Not too long ago, a woman in Oakland was working in her front garden.  She's digging around and finds a black duffel bag buried in the garden -

Inside was an assault rifle, shotgun shells, a black ski mask, black gloves and a towel.

Twenty years ago, if you found a bag of guns buried in your yard, you wouldn't even miss a beat. You'd be on the phone to the police immediately. Not so, any more.

Vanaman's heart raced as she stared at her discovery and tried desperately to figure out what to do.

She was paralized with fear. Why would that be? Because in Oakland - and many surrounding cities in the SF Bay Area - gangs run the joint. If you cross the gangs, you can end up dead.

When Vanaman returned, four young men stood in her frontyard. "What did you do with the guns?" one of them asked. "I called the police," she told him. "I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry."

The man scowled and told her she owed him $800 and said she had a week to come up with the money. "I don't make that much," she replied. "Bitches get killed for that," he told her. "Bitches get tortured for that."

A keen observer of others, Vanaman noticed the young man used the passive voice so she couldn't accuse him of threatening her directly. But the implication was clear. "Bitches get raped for that," he shouted.

Suddenly, she felt torn. For years, she had rationalized her choices in coping with the danger outside her door. Now, she knew turning in the gun was the right moral decision, but it had put her life at risk.

With the man still berating her, Vanaman said she would sell whatever valuables she could to get the money.

She and her roommates have moved out.  The police were called numerous times, but only showed up on rare occasions.  They were there to provide protection when she was moving her stuff out.
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Two stories of fearful individuals.  One appears to be taking the path of not allowing herself to be intimidated.  She seemed more fearful of being raped or killed than she was of learning how to shoot a gun for self-defense.  She fought through the fear and learned the skills to defend herself.

The other lady is folding up her tent, and getting out of Dodge.  The bad guys won that one.

In the same situation as the second lady, I don't know that I'd have acted differently.  This horrific State of California has stripped her of her ability to keep a means of deadly self-defense (to be used against weapons of deadly offense against her) with her at all times.  She might have a gun with her in her home, but venture outside, and you're stripped naked, while the bad guys are still heavily armed.

Being caught by "the authorities" with the means to defend herself - a loaded handgun - outside of her home or business makes her a felon in this state.  You don't need to shoot anyone, you just need to be in possession of the loaded handgun.  An otherwise law-abiding citizen merely possessing the means with which to defend her life or the life of another, and she goes away for many years.

And, ironically, once she becomes a felon, she now forfeits her right to possess a handgun in (I believe) all states.

The various arms of our government keep telling us that crime is down.  We're safer than we've ever been.  Our nation's police agencies are takin' care of business.

I just don't believe it.  And judging from my perpetually sold out gun classes, regular citizens aren't swallowing the tripe either.

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Related:  THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!

A 66 Year Old Texan Vic Stacey Puts Four 357 Magnum Pistol Rounds into a Killer Rifleman at 165 Yards

Some whacko had killed his neighbor and her dog, and the first responding cop was pinned down by the bad guy.  The citizen's first shot hit the bad guy in the thigh.  Three of the next 4 shots also hit their mark.  This gave the cop the ability to turn his AR-15 on the bad guy and take him out.

Once again, a responsible, armed citizen helping to keep his community safe.


Accept The Challenge

Which fears have beaten you down?  Which have you beaten?  Which have you figured a "work around" to make the fear irrelevant?

Anyone who's dropped by here more than once knows my stance on the issue of self-defense.  I'll not end up dead simply to ensure I'm following the law.  It's really that simple.

Are there risks in this approach?  Hell yes.  Each of us has to do the whole risk/reward calculation for ourselves.

This moronic state has even criminalized your ability to possess an unloaded, cased gun, unless you are traveling between "approved" locations or activities.  From your home to the firing range, for instance.

Keep a cased gun in your car while on your way to pick up some burgers, and you've broken the law.

This issue is number two on the list of reasons why my wife and I are leaving this state after her retirement (number one being the financial idiocy of our state government).  We will be moving to a state which recognizes the Constitutionaly guaranteed right of citizens to keep and bear arms.  California doesn't do so, and won't for a very long time.  Longer than I have left on this earth, so we're bailing out.

Until that time, I will likely, on occasion, be breaking the law.  So be it.

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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